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The Toronto Maple Leafs were one of the hottest teams in the NHL in February, with a 9-3-0 record that solidified their hold on a playoff spot, but on Saturday they will take on the New York Rangers at Scotiabank Arena, who had the best record at 10-1-0 and have a stranglehold on the Metropolitan Division.
While the contest will feature one of the league’s hottest goalies in Igor Shesterkin and the NHL’s best goal scorer in Austin Matthews, that matchup is taking second fiddle to the possibility of enforcer Ryan Reaves taking on the newest prominent pugilist in 21-year-old Matt Rempe.
“I think (fighting) still has its place in the game. You are seeing a real evolution where it seems like the staged fighting off of the faceoffs is pretty much extinct. There has been a little bit of uptick in that recently, but it is pretty much instinct. It is now more reactionary where it is part of the game and something happens like a big hit. That seems to be where it has gone.” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said on Saturday. “It is something that it seems like the fans are still entertained by — very much so……as you saw the other night in our game, (Reaves) throws a big hit, it raises the game’s temperature, and there is a fight in response to that. It raises the game’s temperature, and to that degree, it has its place.”
There will be a few lineup changes on Saturday. Calle Jarnkrok will return to the lineup after missing five weeks with a broken knuckle and will take the place of Nick Robertson on the third line with John Tavares and Bobby Mcmann. Newly acquired Ilya Lyubushkin will slot in as expected on the right side with Morgan Rielly, allowing TJ Brodie to shift to the second pairing with Timothy Liljegren (a game-time decision).
Ilya Samsonov will start after Joseph Woll’s impressive start on Thursday against Arizona.
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Following the trade for Lyubushkin, Leafs GM Brad Treliving stated on Friday that he would be open to dealing the club’s 2024 first-round pick, but only in the right circumstances.
“I think you gotta be careful with first-round picks for short-term help,” Treliving said. “But if it makes sense at the end of the day when you do the final analysis…you have to look at every option.”
Based on the Leafs needs and their positioning in the East, facing either Boston, Florida, or the Rangers in the first round, the right circumstance would likely be a player with term remaining on their contract and someone who could help out the club on either their top two lines or top two defensive pairs.
Based on the relatively low cap hit of Lyubushkin, Toronto could still make a depth add on the blueline or up front, but it would have to be a relatively cheap one.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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