(Calgary) Good news, for those who were worried: Tyler Toffoli is fine. And his team? Even better than him.
Posted at 4:42 p.m.
Since January 23, the Calgary Flames have simply been the best team in the NHL. Fourteen wins in 16 games. Plenty of goals, impeccable defensive play, an intractable goalkeeper.
It was in the midst of this irresistible streak that Toffoli settled in Alberta, after a trade that earned the Montreal Canadiens a first-round pick in the 2022 draft and hopeful Emil Heineman, in particular.
PHOTO SERGEI BELSKI, USA TODAY SPORTS
Tyler Toffoli currently completes the third line to the right of Sean Monahan and Milan Lucic, in addition to playing on the first unit on the power play.
The 29-year-old winger didn’t take long to find his bearings. In 7 games, he has already collected 7 points, including 5 goals. However, in the meantime, he is only fourth in scoring for his team, tied with Andrew Mangipane. Elias Lindholm (13 points), Matthew Tkachuk (11) and Johnny Gaudreau (9) are ahead of them. This shows the explosiveness of this attack.
Its role is more limited than in Montreal. He is only used marginally on the penalty kill, and he currently completes the third line to the right of Sean Monahan and Milan Lucic, in addition to playing on the first unit on the power play. More than three minutes per game were cut from his ice time compared to his use with the Canadiens.
PHOTO SERGEI BELSKI, USA TODAY SPORTS
Tyler Toffoli didn’t seem to want to comment on his experience in his new uniform. “I’ve been in this league for a long time. I try to play the best hockey possible,” he said.
This is where we understand how valuable his addition is for the Flames, who thus find an almost perfect balance in their attack. The threat can come from anywhere, as long as one of the first three lines is on the ice.
“He’s one more complete player for us,” head coach Darryl Sutter said Wednesday morning during a brief press briefing.
“Tyler doesn’t just score goals. He is very involved in the game in general, in several situations, which is very important to us. »
PHOTO DARRYL DYCK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Tyler Toffoli checking Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver on February 24. “Tyler doesn’t just score goals. He’s very involved in the game in general, in many situations, which is very important to us,” said head coach Darryl Sutter.
Sutter knows Toffoli well, having coached him with the Los Angeles Kings for the Ontarian’s first five full seasons in the NHL. The young man he was is now a seasoned veteran, “an even better player, with more experience”, who has more “control” over his game.
On the power play, a phase of play in which Toffoli has already amassed three points, his addition completely changed the configuration of the first wave, noted Gaudreau. “Before, the teams read us too easily,” he remarked.
In eight seasons in Calgary, Gaudreau does not remember having known such a complete and balanced team.
PHOTO CANDICE WARD, USA TODAY SPORTS
Tyler Toffoli scores against the Winnipeg Jets in the third period at the Saddledome in Calgary on February 21. The Flames won 3-1.
The Colorado Avalanche remain the Western Conference’s overwhelming favorite to reach the Stanley Cup Final. It suddenly becomes difficult to snub the Flames.
Pleasure
The principal concerned did not seem to want to pour out on the experience he is living in his new uniform.
“I’ve been in this league for a long time. I try to play the best hockey possible,” he said.
His integration has been smooth, notably due to the presence of a few ex-teammates, including Milan Lucic, whom he rubbed shoulders with in Los Angeles, and Sean Monahan, his center player for two seasons with the Ottawa 67s, in the Ontario Junior League. Many are also those he knew well for having faced them often, he who had spent his entire career in the Flames division before agreeing with the Canadian in 2020.
Given the performance of the team, which has won 12 of its last 13 games, Toffoli is having fun. He himself does not say so, but it is a major change with his experience with the Canadiens this season. “It didn’t go the way we had planned,” he politely summed up.
In this regard, he notes that his former teammates “play the right way and have a lot more fun” under Martin St-Louis. He is not surprised by CH’s recent successes – five straight wins before Tuesday’s defeat in Winnipeg – because, he recalls, “everyone in this locker room works hard” and “nobody is satisfied with losing “.
This does not prevent him from wanting to “beat them” on Thursday, when the Habs will play the second game of their trip to Western Canada in Calgary. He rightly recalled, as is the usual formula, that this meeting is only “another match” that his team must win.
Journalist Marc-André Perreault, of TVA Sports, concluded the exchange by asking him if he planned to fraternize with the CH players. “I hope Cole [Caufield] will buy me dinner, ”he replied tit for tat.
“Does he owe you one?” “retorted the reporter.
“Yes, I paid him a lot! added Toffoli with a smile.
Hostilities are launched.