TORONTO — Nazem Kadri calls it “bulletin-board material.”
It wasn’t too long after Saturday’s 4-2 victory in Washington before he saw Lars Eller’s thoughts on the Toronto Maple Leafs land in his social media feed with a bang.
Eller said Toronto’s stars were a drop-off from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, which is hardly an insult. But of the Leafs, he added: “It’s not that special, to be honest. It’s a good team, like a lot of others. They’ll probably be a playoff team, I would think.”
That’s the part that caught Kadri’s attention.
“I don’t know how he can be serious with that comment, but I understand they’re coming off hanging a banner,” Kadri said Monday, before the Leafs hosted the Los Angeles Kings at Scotiabank Arena. “But, you know, you’ve got to give teams respect that have earned it, and I certainly think we’ve earned that.”
Much has been said and written about the 5-1-0 Leafs already this season. Full disclosure: A good portion of it has come from me and my colleagues at Sportsnet.
If this team is guilty of anything it’s probably over-saturation and that’s not a problem of their own making. But it’s not going to change, either.
The Kings arrived in Toronto carrying a healthy respect for an opponent that has outscored them 8-0 on the power play this season and 22-11 overall. Perhaps it helps that they aren’t subjected to the same level of Leafs-related noise while playing on the other side of the continent.
“I believe that the credit’s well-deserved,” said Dion Phaneuf, the former captain here. “They’re 5-1, they’re playing really good hockey. This is a big media market and there’s a lot of attention on this team. I’ve experienced it, I’ve lived it, but to see them having success, I think it’s well-deserved.”
Drew Doughty, who gently flirted with the idea of coming to Toronto before signing an $88-million, eight-year extension over the summer, agrees.
“I obviously grew up watching the Leafs so I secretly want them to kind of succeed, too,” he said.
Doughty doesn’t pay much attention to social media or sports highlight shows. Most of the hype he’s heard about them is coming from childhood buddies in London, Ont., who believe big things are on the horizon.
“But they’re in my ear at the start of every season. Ever since I was five years old it’s the same stuff at the beginning of the year,” said Doughty. “This time I definitely think the Leafs are for real.”
It certainly looks that way with how seamlessly free-agent catch John Tavares has fit in, and how otherworldly Auston Matthews has looked while scoring nine goals in six games. Morgan Rielly and Mitch Marner are off to career-best starts, as well.
The Leafs are forcing rival coaches to make difficult matchup decisions in games — “Hope and pray,” said Jim Montgomery of the Dallas Stars, when asked last week how to slow Toronto’s offence — and they’re seeing opponents asked often about them during media sessions.
“Up front, at the centre position, they’re very deep. Everyone knows that,” said Stars centre Tyler Seguin, another local product. “You guys make sure that everyone knows that.”
Here’s guessing Eller was reacting to that more than anything else. The former Montreal Canadiens centre is plenty familiar with how stories can take on a life of their own in a Canadian city. He’s also four months removed from scoring the Stanley Cup-clinching goal for the Capitals and surely knows that the only notable thing the Leafs have won since he entered the league is the draft lottery.
On some level, Kadri seems to grasp that as well.
“It’s frustration because everyone keeps talking about how good we are,” he said. “From our perspective, we believe we’re a good team, but we still have to earn that respect to be a contender and to be one of the best teams year in and year out. That’s something we’re working on. I think we’ve established a pretty good start.
“I think it’s certainly you guys for the most part just pounding the Maple Leafs in [Eller’s] ear. I think he got a little bit upset about it. Obviously, a sensitive subject.”
One that will be raised again when the Capitals visit Toronto on Jan. 23. By then, we should have a clearer understanding of just how good they are.
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