Maple Leafs exit interviews: Takeaways from Matthews, Marner, Tavares and more

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs held their end-of-season news conference Tuesday, featuring coach Craig Berube and 10 players.

Here’s what we learned in our last chance to hear from the Leafs’ players and coach this season.

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Matthews won’t disclose injury

Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews would not disclose the specifics of an injury that he said was ailing him all season — continuing to hold his line on privacy surrounding injuries.

He did reveal, however, when he suffered the injury and that he would not require surgery.

“I don’t need to get into the specifics of stuff, but I got injured in training camp,” Matthews said. “Obviously, I wasn’t feeling great throughout the first month or so of the season. Took some time off, went to Germany, did all these things to try to feel better, then get in a place I felt like I could manage it.”

Berube also declined to discuss specific injuries sustained by his team.

“I think it impacted a lot of different things,” Matthews said of his injury.

If there’s another injury in Matthews’ future, it seems unlikely we’re going to get much intel about specifics. Asked why he chooses to keep injury information private, Matthews said: “Because I can. It’s my right to, I believe.”

Matthews said he was confident he would return fully healthy for next season.

Marner’s return in doubt

Set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, Mitch Marner’s future will be a topic of speculation until his next contract is signed.

Judging by what the Leafs’ star winger said on Tuesday, it is difficult to see him returning.

“I have always loved my time here. I loved being here. Like I said to you guys earlier, I’ve been so grateful,” Marner said. “I haven’t processed anything yet, it’s still so fresh.”

Marner said he plans to “sit down with my wife, start talking and try to figure out what the next steps are.”

Marner’s refusal to waive his no-movement clause at the March 7 deadline to accept a trade to the Carolina Hurricanes — as was his right — turned up the volume surrounding Marner’s contract status.

Marner admitted on Tuesday that the spotlight on him might affect his family.

“I’m sure it’s tough on them,” Marner said. “You’ve got to not focus on that. I think what my wife and I have done such a good job over the last couple of years is just not focusing on that. There’s so much love and appreciation for yourself and from the fans out there.

“Just because you don’t hear it, it’s still out there, you got the love of a lot of people and sometimes the noise you hear is not the one that you want, but that’s how it goes. I’m sure my family has taken it hard, especially being in the crowd, but that’s how the game of hockey goes.”

Marner did his best to put an optimistic spin on what playing in Toronto has meant to him, but there seemed to be a mix of resignation and disappointment in his voice.

Obviously things can change and it’s not impossible to imagine Marner returning to Toronto. But all indications, from the six minutes he spoke on Tuesday, are that he will test free agency. If he has played his last game in Toronto, few should be surprised.

“I’m forever grateful, especially with this group,” Marner said.

Tavares wants to stay

No surprises here: pending unrestricted free agent John Tavares wants to stay in Toronto. The former Leafs captain said Tuesday that he had “positive conversations” with Leafs general manager Brad Treliving and Berube.

“I’m very optimistic that it can work out where I’m back,” Tavares said. “But I haven’t put too much thought into it as obviously it’s only been just a number of hours since things have ended.”

Pacioretty weighs retirement

On a one-year deal that began as a PTO, Max Pacioretty emerged as a strong playoff performer for the Leafs. He also might have played his final game for the Leafs.

Reading between the lines in Pacioretty’s 10-minute availability — the longest of any player — it certainly feels like the 36-year-old is at least considering retirement.

“This year was very difficult for me, being away from my family. So I’m really excited to just get home and be with them and talk to them about what’s next in life,” Pacioretty said. “But in terms of playing, that’s difficult to answer right now.”

Pacioretty endured an undisclosed injury late in the season. The veteran forward has sustained a long list of recent injuries, which he’s previously said threatened to derail his career. He played 37 regular season games and 11 playoff games for the Leafs. Pacioretty was a healthy scratch for the first two playoff games. Once he returned, he scored a number of crucial goals for the Leafs and finished fourth in playoff scoring with eight points.

The winger admitted the season did not go as planned.

“Right from Day 1, and maybe to a personal fault, I knew I was here for the playoffs, right? We won the division, the regular season has never been something that this team really has to had to worry about in the past and I knew that coming in,” he said. “So, it’s like, how can I be at my best in the playoffs and still contribute and find myself a part of the group in the regular season?

“That was a little bit of a struggle because I wanted to play playoff hockey, as does everyone. But right from October it proved that maybe I missed out on a few opportunities offensively here and there and opportunities to maybe solidify myself in the lineup. Then I went through those injuries. The team was really, really hot going into the playoffs so I kind of found myself on the outside looking in.”

If Pacioretty’s NHL career is finished, his last time in front of the cameras re-established his strong character and that the Leafs should continue to find people like him if they want to have success in the playoffs.

Asked about the pressure players face in Toronto, he said, resolutely, “I love it.”

“It’s a privilege to play under pressure and you probably don’t realize that when you’re in it or when you are younger,” he continued. “But it’s a privilege to have this many people care about how we do. I certainly never felt this way early on in my career. But it builds winners and turns you into men and helps you achieve who you’re ultimately trying to become.”

Knies on offer sheets

Yes, breakout winger Matthew Knies could be given an offer sheet this summer as a restricted free agent. But signing with a different NHL team and forcing the Leafs to match the offer would require Knies — and any RFA like him — to agree to a deal.

Knies quickly shut down talk of signing anywhere outside Toronto.

And in doing so, the oft-lighthearted Knies spoke as seriously as he has in his three seasons in Toronto.

“I want to be here, I want to play here, that’s all that really matters to me,” Knies said.

Stolarz suffered concussion

Anthony Stolarz confirmed he suffered a concussion during Game 1 against the Florida Panthers. Yet it certainly felt like he was trending toward returning to a starter role had the Leafs advanced to the Eastern Conference Final. Stolarz backed up Joseph Woll in Game 7 against the Panthers.

He said repeatedly how proud he was of returning from a knee injury earlier this season. And he struck a positive tone about next season, too.

“I owe a lot to (Leafs goaltending coach) Curtis Sanford and (Joseph Woll). Curtis was working hard with us ever since training camp and really put in the extra effort for me to get back during that injury. The techniques and the way he prepared us really prepared me.

“Myself and (Woll), being able to push each other all year, we had a great relationship and I got along with him extremely well. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to come back with him next year,” Stolarz said.

Lack of structure to blame

With the benefit of time to look back on the Leafs’ mystifying and humiliating 6-1 losses to the Panthers in Games 5 and 7, Berube seems to have found the answer: his team deviated from the sound defensive structure that helped them win the Atlantic Division.

“There’s a lot of things that go through your mind in these big games from a mental standpoint. And you may not have your A-game in these games. But what you have to rely on is your structure. And when I look at these games, and I look at the situations that arrived and hurt us in these games, we lost our structure,” Berube said.

Of course, why the Leafs lost in embarrassing fashion will be debated for years to come. That the Leafs scored just one goal in Game 7, as they had in their previous four Game 7s, is undoubtedly part of it.

But Berube’s message to his players heading into the summer was focused on how an adherence to their structure will help them avoid future losses when it matters. The Leafs allowed three goals in just over six minutes in the second period of Game 7. That ended up being their downfall in the most important game in the franchise’s recent history.

“That’s very important that we take this away and that we come back next year: structure is very important. And if you don’t lose your structure, you can get through these games without having your A-game,” Berube said.

Was Toronto ‘noise’ to blame?

Every Leafs player who spoke Tuesday, as well as Berube, was asked about how heightened pressure, apparently placed upon the team by media and fans, impacted their play.

The questions were fuelled by comments from Panthers coach Paul Maurice and players Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk in the hours and days after Game 7 that centred around one idea: this Leafs team would have performed better had it not been for the scrutiny they are under in what is arguably the league’s most fervent market.

Every Leaf deflected that idea, at least publicly.

“I don’t think (outside pressure) is ever really something that gets talked about too much or (is) too much of a focus. I think it’s the nature of playing here. It comes with the territory. … I think it’s an amazing place to play, I love playing in Toronto,” Matthews said.

The Leafs who spoke on Tuesday refused to feed a narrative that has quickly snowballed around Toronto.

“There’s an incredible following of the team, an incredible passion about the club and the history around it and why it’s so special play here,” Tavares said. “You feel that on a daily basis and you recognize it and it’s what makes it great.

“There’s pressure everywhere. Certainly there’s a lot of noise playing in Toronto, but that can’t outweigh the pleasure and the privilege and the opportunity that it brings.”

(Top photo of Craig Berube: R.J. Johnston / Toronto Star via Getty Images)

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