Reasonable expectations for Murray, what’s next for Alex Nylander, and a plea for Matt Benning: Leaflets

The Maple Leafs have about the least favourable schedule imaginable heading into the Christmas break. Tonight is the second half of back-to-back games and they’ll play once more on Monday before being right back at it on the road on the 27th (in the first have of a back-to-back for them). Of the five possible gamedays impacted by the holiday roster freeze, the Leafs play on four of them. I’m not looking to add evidence for those making a case that the league is out to get the Leafs, but I’m certainly hoping there is a trade off for the Leafs getting the busiest Christmas season in the league.

That pre-Festivus airing of a grievance out of the way, here are some other stray thoughts on the Maple Leafs:

Matt Murray is a giant question mark

Matt Murray picking up a shutout for the Marlies just before his recall to the Maple Leafs seems to have set the bar high for his return in some circles, and it seems that he is almost being sold as a potential tandem partner with Joseph Woll over the next month, instead of being the means to letting Dennis Hildeby go back to putting in regular work on the Marlies.

Before going full Grinch and dumping on Murray’s numbers, I do want to acknowledge that Murray working back from this lengthy chronic injury is inspiring and his dedication is admirable. There is the possibility that he is in the best condition he has been in for years and he deserves a chance to show what he can do in the NHL in what is a very low risk situation for the Leafs given the lack of other options. Murray has been on fire for the Marlies this season with a .931 save percentage in his eight games and now that he is healthy, as the veteran option with numbers showing he’s above AHL competition, the recall makes 100% sense.

All of that said, the NHL is a different beast than the AHL. It’s faster, he’s going to be tested physically a lot more, and a big reason why a lot of players are in the AHL is that they can’t score at the NHL level. There is a big offensive difference and prime Pittsburgh era Murray isn’t likely who is walking through that door, but if pre-injury Leafs Murray walks through that door, the Leafs are still looking a solid 3rd string option.

When Murray has been injured previously, he has generally required a couple of games before he was playing above replacement level. Obviously, he’s never been out this long or been of this age before, so it even if there are positive results along the way, it might take some time for him be his true self in net.

Murray playing on Friday night might hint at the possibility that Berube will want to go back to him again on Monday. There’s something to be said for getting him going again and rest for Woll has always been ideal. What is more than likely is that Murray will take on half of the Detroit/Washington back-to-back after the break, and as Hildeby hasn’t made an overwhelming case for being the third guy, Murray will also likely pick up one of the games during the January 4-5th back-to-backs as well.

After that, it seems like the Leafs will at least have an early understanding of what Murray is and if he can be pick up additional starts or just be relief as required for Woll. With Woll playing the way he has, and with Murray in the position he’s in, it seems like the best option is to ride Woll as much as possible rather than send too much work Murray’s way.

What’s next for Alex Nylander

I’m not sure that five games of ten minutes of ice time tell the full story on any player, but I’m sure that Alex Nylander would have liked to have something on the scoresheet during his time with the Leafs. The forward played primarily with either Leafs prospects or defensive bottom six staples during his time with the Leafs and that might not have been the ideal casting for him, but given how injured ravaged the Leafs offensive group was at the time, there really wasn’t better options available to play Alex with.

As much as having the Nylanders on a line together would have been a feel good story, the defensive zone blackhole they’d generate might have had Stolarz and Woll walk off their jobs. Understandably with the return of Auston Matthews, Max Pacioretty, and Max Domi, Alex Nylander has returned to the Marlies, and that at least warrants a brief, “what’s next for him” question.

Alex is still very much on fire against AHL competition. He’s over a point per game player and has 11 goals in 17 games. Essentially, at the AHL level, Alex is William Nylander.

In some ways things have worked out for the Leafs. While not making a case for joining the Leafs fulltime, Nylander got a reminder of the pace of the NHL, and a taste of the Leafs playing style. He knows what will be asked of him and he’s returned to the Marlies and resumed his productivity there. He’s put himself in a good position to be the affordable offensive call-up when the team needs someone who can help boost secondary scoring. Injuries and possible trades certainly make this an area worth retaining some depth in.

In the meantime, playing with other possible recalls like Alex Steeves, Fraser Minten, and Nikita Grebenkin will also help Alex. Having a group that is all in a similar situation should up the chance of success for any one of them on their next go around with the big club.

Giving Matt Benning a look

If there is a running theme to this Leaflets it is probably the amount of Marlies talk. The fact that the Leafs are playing well has created a nice little luxury where stressing over the roles of fringe NHLers is a thing we can do despite not being over invested in the outcome. That’s why I’ll close out this post by expressing my desire to see Matt Benning in a Leafs uniform.

Being based out of Edmonton, I watched a fair bit of Benning a few years back when he played with the Oilers and much like last season when I may have believed in William Lagesson a little too much because he didn’t look out of place on bad Oilers bluelines, the same probably holds true of Matt Benning.

This is also partially attributed to a grass is always greener philosophy. Was it worthwhile giving Conor Timmins a look? Yep. Same is true of Philippe Myers. And a healthy Jani Hakanpaa will definitely get another look as well. So far none of them have outright grabbed the spot in the lineup and basically that’s the logic behind doing the same with Matt Benning.

The added upside is that Benning is a bit more multidimensional than Timmins, Hakanpaa, and Myers, and maybe that will be a balance that will benefit Simon Benoit as well. No one is going to be Jake McCabe to jumpstart Benoit except McCabe and that’s not going to happen anytime soon, so why not try Benning?

The Leafs have some interesting depth options, might as well try them.