Toronto Maple Leafs: Rough night for roster hopefuls against Canadiens

After the Toronto Maple Leafs divided the training camp roster, some players looking to make the team didn’t impress against the Montreal Canadiens.

It wasn’t a great night for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Montreal Canadiens in pre-season. Sure it’s only an exhibition game but for some players, it was their chance to showcase themselves to Mike Babcock and it was certainly disappointing.

Again, the score in pre-season doesn’t matter but we all know that the Leafs head coach likes to win and starts to develop an opinion on players. Whether it hurts their chances remains to be seen but it’s safe to say it didn’t help.

Most of Monday night’s roster consisted of players who will be sent down to the Toronto Marlies and that was in part because the Montreal Canadiens weren’t using an NHL lineup.

Regardless, the Leafs were looking for a couple of individuals to step up especially on the backend and it didn’t happen and Babcock voiced his displeasure about it.

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Upfront only Andreas Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen and Par Lindholm are seen as locks to make the NHL with Pierre Engvall, and Carl Grundstrom knocking on the door.

The Leafs soon-to-be fourth line didn’t have a terrible performance as they were a positive possession and were only on the ice for a goal against. The real issue was the play on the back end and it starts with Andreas Borgman and Justin Holl who were shaky, to say the least.

Borgman’s chances to make the Leafs were slim given how he’s probably behind Travis Dermott and fellow Swede Calle Rosen. It’s crazy to think how the 23-year-old was able to beat out both Dermott and Rosen at the start of the season and now he’s on the verge of being sent to the Marlies.

What it shows is how tough the competition is to make the Leafs especially on the blueline which is seen as a weakness on the team which is why Holl needed to have a better effort as well. He along with Connor Carrick are seeing Igor Ozhiganov jump ahead of them at this point and both were coming into camp with high hopes.

Now it’s not the end of the world for either player but it was clear that Babcock didn’t find any good to say about the effort so they’ll have to cross their fingers with roster decisions not too far away.

Last but not least, the goaltending performance from Garret Sparks had to be the most disappointing simply because it was his opportunity to stay level with Curtis McElhinney. Despite the rough performance, there is still some belief that the Leafs could go with the young netminder.

In the end, it’s Babcock who chooses the players while general manager Kyle Dubas will provide his input and obviously waivers come into play here as well. Either way, the Leafs will have to take a gamble with either goalie and maybe one of them clears but it all depends on interest around the league.

The Leafs’ NHL lineup is expected to be in action on Friday against the Detroit Red Wings with the Leafs hoping to solidify their lineup and a couple of players cementing their spot.

What did you think about the performance against the Habs? Did it cost a couple of players a chance to make the Leafs? Let us know in the comments below.