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“I wasn’t sure how John-Michael was going to react to it, but he has made it easy on us,” Spott said Friday. “He knows he’s being challenged. He also knows this isn’t foreign ice to him, that he is still in Toronto. And we want to help him make it back to the National Hockey League.”

Outside of five season-ending games with the Hershey Bears in 2003 when he graduated from Michigan State, Liles didn’t see any minor-league action in 621 games with Colorado and Toronto. But his four-year, $15.5 million U.S. commitment to the Leafs in January of 2012 came just before coach Ron Wilson’s firing and, a year later, the dismissal of general manager Brian Burke. The offensive-minded Liles is a good player, but just not one who fits Randy Carlyle’s plan.

“I think he appreciates we’ll need him a lot,” Spott said. “It’s great for us to have him and (fellow NHL veterans) T.J. Brennan and Korbinian Holzer here.”

For now, Liles will partner Petter Granberg, a 2010 pick from Sweden who didn’t do as well at camp as expected and needs a mentor.

The Toronto-born Spott has invited many friends and family to his debut, as well as pals from his primary OHL base in Kitchener. The coach of the 2013 Canadian junior team is being entrusted with a much more inexperienced lineup than predecessor Dallas Eakins, who made the 2012 Calder Cup final and took a few veterans with him to the Edmonton organization in the summer.

Spott’s projected lines are almost all high-round Leaf picks. He also has projected Leafs Stuart Percy, Andrew MacWilliam and Granberg on defence.

Drew MacIntyre starts in goal against the Griffins, while promising junior Garret Sparks is the backup. It’s expected Sparks or third man Christopher Gibson will eventually join Toronto’s new ECHL affiliate in Orlando. Training camp tryouts Kory Nagy and Michael Neal (brother of James) are headed down there already.

SMITH NAMED MARLIES CAPTAIN

New Marlies captain Trevor Smith might have to give up the ‘C’ for a couple of trips to the ACC.

“I want to put to bed the notion that being captain of a farm team is not the ultimate curse of making the NHL,” said Marlies coach Steve Spott. “If the Leafs need a responsible third- or fourth-line forward, then Trevor will be there. It happened for Ryan (Hamilton) last year and it will be a great motivation for everyone on the Marlies if Trevor is there.

Smith, a 28-year-old Ottawa native, has played 24 NHL games with Pittsburgh, the Islanders and Tampa Bay, gaining six points. He was in a game as recently as last year with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.

“I’m not exactly a prospect anymore, but I’m not too old, either,” said Smith, who was named captain on Friday at Ricoh Coliseum. “I think I had a great camp with the Leafs as it went on.”

Spott, who has not coached at the pro level, wanted a captain familiar with promotions and demotions to help a young Marlies team — a “surrogate coach” in a way.

“We have a lot of good first- and second-year players here and once they figure the little things out about the AHL, we’re going to do well,” Smith said.

John-Michael Liles and Jerry D’Amigo will be the alternate captains at home, Korbinian Holzer and Andrew MacWilliam get the “A” on the road.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 10.05.2013

719650 Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs’ Morgan Rielly expected to make NHL debut against Ottawa Senators

Michael Traikos | 04/10/13 | Last Updated: 04/10/13 1:39 PM ET

Morgan Rielly moved one step closer to making his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

What we have learned from the Leafs' first two games

The 19-year-old, who sat out the first two games of the season as a healthy scratch, was paired with Jake Gardiner at practice amongst the team’s top-six defencemen on Friday. With Mark Fraser (hamstring) on long-term injury reserve — meaning he must miss 24 days or 10 games — Rielly is expected to play his first game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

“What are my expectations? Just go out and play,” said head coach Randy Carlyle. “Do your thing. He’s a talented young hockey player … he’s played in world juniors, he’s played in pressure situations, but it’s always special when it’s your first game in the NHL.

“I just think that he plays the game with his head and his legs and his hands. He’s got all three assets that separate him from other people in his age group.”

If Rielly plays nine games, his entry-level contract would kick in and he would likely not be returned to junior. Because of his age, he cannot be sent down to the minors.

Although Rielly was paired with Gardiner at practice on Friday, Carlyle said that could change for Saturday’s game.

The Leafs also recalled forward Jamie Devane from the Toronto Marlies, although it is unclear whether he will be in the lineup on Saturday.

National Post LOADED: 10.05.2013

719651 Toronto Maple Leafs

After Toronto Maple Leafs demotion, John-Michael Liles takes on minor-league duties with healthy dose of professionalism and hope

Michael Traikos | 04/10/13 | Last Updated: 04/10/13 9:07 AM ET

TORONTO — John-Michael Liles was a senior in college the last time he played in the minors. Ten years later, after carving out a successful NHL career as an offensive defenceman, he is back.

Toronto Maple Leafs’ eight-year deal with Phil Kessel: What it all means

And though the long bus rides from city to city are still the same, there are slight upgrades from the last time he was down here.

“I think I get my own seat on the bus now,” the 32-year-old said with a smile. “I remember being wedged in pretty good 10 years ago.”

A victim of the shrinking salary cap in the first full season under the new collective bargaining agreement, Liles was placed on waivers and then assigned to the Toronto Marlies earlier this week. It allowed the Maple Leafs, who were hard against the cap, to remove US$925,000 of his US$3.875-million cap hit. He knew all along it was going to happen. But for someone who had logged more than 600 games in the NHL and still believes he can be a regular top-six defenceman, it did not make it easier to digest.

“It’s never easy,” Liles said. “It’s not something you plan on, but for me it’s to make the most of the opportunity. I think we have a great group of guys here — a young group — and hopefully I can bring something to the team.”

What Liles brings to the team is veteran leadership. “A little bit of old man knowledge,” he said. He also brings a reminder that the NHL is not always fair.

Two years ago, the Leafs made a four-year, US$15.5-million commitment to Liles to become their power-play quarterback. The following year, he spent a third of the season as a healthy scratch. Now, like Jeff Finger, Tim Connolly and Mike Komisarek before him, he is yet another overpaid mistake that the team has to bury in the minors.

Liles is a victim of circumstance more than anything else. There are those within the organization who believe he is more than able to play in the NHL. But the Leafs have an abundance of left-handed, puck-moving defencemen. They remain so tight against the cap they are carrying just one reserve player.

“There’s a lot of factors involved,” said Dave Poulin, Leafs vice-president of hockey operations, whose history with Liles goes back to when he tried to recruit the Indiana native to play for the University of Notre Dame as a 16-year-old.

“There’s a tremendous amount of respect there. But he’s a true professional when talking about this. I can only imagine that he’s coming down here ready to work.”

Liles said he does not hold any grudges against the Leafs. He watched both of the team’s games this week and was happy that his former teammates are playing well without him. But he is also hoping that he can join the team sometime soon, a possibility with defenceman Mark Fraser being placed on injured reserve because of a reported hamstring injury (although the team told the National Post on Thursday that it would not be calling anyone up right away).

“Starting off the season 2-0 is never a bad thing,” Liles said. “It’s early in the season, so there’s good points and bad points. If you ask anybody in that room, I’m sure they’d say the same thing. I thought both [James] Reimer and [Jonathan] Bernier played really well, and like I said, starting off the season 2-0 is never a bad thing.”

For now, Liles is trying to make the most of the situation in the AHL and hopes it can be a springboard back to where he believes he belongs. That is what Komisarek did after spending the end of last season in the minors. Now signed with the Carolina Hurricanes, Komisarek spoke to Liles shortly after he was assigned to the Marlies and told him this can be an opportunity to something bigger if he views it the right way.

“We shared the same attitude in the sense that you can control what you can control,” Liles said of speaking with Komisarek. “I would love to be back in the NHL. I don’t feel like I’m done playing in the NHL, but for now I’m here, I’m just going to work hard and make the most of the opportunity here.”

That begins on the ice, where Marlies head coach Steve Spott is expecting big things from the seasoned pro when the season begins on Saturday.

“I’m expecting him to be a dominant player,” Spott said. “He just has to be. The way he skates, the way he handles the puck, we expect him to be a dominant American Hockey League defenceman, as he should be. He’s a very good NHL defenceman, so it should only translate to him being great at this level.

“My challenge is to get [Liles] back to the National Hockey League.”

National Post LOADED: 10.05.2013

719652 Washington Capitals

Braden Holtby on making adjustments to his game this season

By Katie Carrera, Updated: October 4, 2013

Through two games and less than four full periods of play, Braden Holtby has allowed eight goals on 45 shots — a disappointing start but one that hasn’t shaken the confidence of his teammates.

Holtby read the game-winning shot incorrectly in the season opener against the Blackhawks, but he also turned away breakaway attempts by both Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp to keep the Capitals in the contest. While he didn’t appear as poised as usual against the Flames, there was little he could do to prevent Lee Stempniak’s tally, and he didn’t see Jiri Hudler shot on the power play.

Holtby remains the Capitals main option in net, though, as evidenced by Coach Adam Oates’s decision to go back to him for Saturday’s game in Dallas. Oates told Holtby he would face the Stars before the dust settled on Thursday night’s home opener. Oates isn’t the only one comfortable going back to Holtby after the goaltender was pulled before the end of the first period against Calgary.

“I’ve got nothing but confidence in him,” Jason Chimera said. “We’re not worried about that.”

The 24-year-old netminder said that during training camp and the preseason he has worked with goaltending coach Olie Kolzig to make some tweaks to his game. They’re changes in his footwork and positioning – nothing that is fundamentally altering his style, but adjustments that take time nonetheless.

“I think any changes you make that you haven’t used your whole life take a little bit of work,” Holtby said. “It’s not drastic changes just a little bit of positioning, a little bit of making it so I have a better chance of staying under control in scramble situations and better chance to make saves — the saves you’re not supposed to make –- the cross crease and backdoor and whatnot [by] trying to position your feet in different ways. It’s just one of those things that when you start to struggle you go back to your old ways and get in even more trouble.”

Holtby is in the middle stage between new habits and old ones, the key is reaching the point where the adjustments become his natural instinct.

“I think the first two games,” Holtby said, “I was thinking a bit too much about what I was doing positionally and not thinking about the basics of the game as much as I should have.”

Until he reaches that point, Holtby wants to makes sure he studies his mistakes and find a way to resolve those problems.

“It’s been a bit of a learning curve this camp,” Holtby said. “Trying to change a few things and [seeing] those goals [scored against] are what is going to make those changes easier to see what you can do better, what you did good or whatever and to make sure it doesn’t happen on a consistent basis.”

Washington Post LOADED: 10.05.2013

719653 Washington Capitals

Jack Hillen will undergo surgery Friday, expected to miss months

By Katie Carrera, Updated: October 4, 2013

After suffering an apparent injury to his left leg in Thursday’s home opener, defenseman Jack Hillen will undergo surgery Friday, Coach Adam Oates said.

Oates doesn’t believe Hillen’s injury is career-threatening, but he did say he expects the 27-year-old blueliner to miss months. The exact nature of Hillen’s injury is unknown. The Capitals will describe his condition only as a lower body injury.

Pressed on the length of time Hillen is expected to miss, Oates said he wouldn’t go so far as to say it is a season-threatening injury.

“I wouldn’t say that right now, I think it’s too early to tell,” Oates said. “But it’s going to be an extended period of time.”

Video of the hit by Lance Bouma on Jack Hillen

Lance Bouma’s check that ultimately injured Hillen wasn’t a dirty hit, but simply caught the defenseman mid-stride when he was vulnerable to having his leg twisted in an awkward fashion.

“It was ugly to see. You can’t fault the guy that hit him at all, it’s a hockey play. He did the right thing as far as the game’s concerned,” Braden Holtby said. “You just never want to see a guy hit in an awkward situation like that. It’s bad for Hills. Obviously he’s had a bit of rough luck [at] the start of years here the last couple.”

Where the Capitals go from here in terms of organizing their defensive depth is still a little up in the air. Oates said he hasn’t decided whether to play waiver-wire pickup Alexander Urbom or to put Steve Oleksy, who sat out the first two contests as a healthy scratch, on Saturday in Dallas.

Oates prefers players to skate on their strong side. He doesn’t like when defensemen skate on their weak side, because of how it can make certain routine plays more complicated or inefficient. Urbom is a left-handed shot, like Hillen. Oleksy is a right-handed shot and would have to play his off-side.

“I don’t like it. It puts guys in a difficult position. I’ve got to talk to Calle [Johansson] more today as we go to Dallas and talk to [Urbom] more,” Oates said. “I haven’t really had a chance too long to sit down with him about how he’s feeling.”

The Capitals held an optional practice Friday. Those who elected not to skate were: Troy Brouwer, Mike Green, John Carlson, Karl Alzner and John Erskine. It was an opportunity for the defensemen, who played heavy minutes Thursday night after Hillen left the game with the injury, to rest. Brouwer was “stiff” this morning Oates said.

Washington Post LOADED: 10.05.2013

719654 Washington Capitals

Five thoughts on the Capitals’ win over the Flames

By Katie Carrera, Updated: October 4, 2013

Thursday night certainly wasn’t the way anyone would have drawn up a win, but the Capitals will take it.

After spotting the Calgary Flames a 3-0 lead and looking remarkably out of sorts for the first period, Washington found its footing in the final 40 minutes. Connor Carrick started the comeback with his first NHL goal, Alex Ovechkin posted two of his own and Nicklas Backstrom scored to tie the contest with 5:50 remaining in regulation. In the shootout, Mikhail Grabovski and Ovechkin scored to secure two points.

And while it wasn’t perfect, getting that first win out of the way is never a bad thing.

Five thoughts on the Capitals’ victory over the Flames.

1. Holtby’s short night. Braden Holtby made a second consecutive start but this appearance didn’t last long. He allowed three goals on 11 shots in the first 16:22 of the contest. Of the three, the first goal by David Jones was arguably the most preventable on Holtby’s part as the shot beat him high right corner after he appeared to dropped down into the butterfly early.

Oates acknowledged that after the three goals against the Flames, and the fluky goal Holtby allowed in Chicago he “wasn’t sure where [Holtby] was mentally” but said that the move was more to spark the team.

“You’re looking for some sort of momentum change, the time it takes to do that maybe the guys start talking amongst themselves,” Oates said. “Some coaches yell, I kind of just said things to guys. You’re just looking for them to regroup really.”

Through two games Holtby has allowed eight goals on 45 shots. While it’s a different season, it’s worth noting that last year in his first two starts Holtby allowed 10 goals on 73 shots.

Asked if he would go back to Holtby for Saturday’s game in Dallas, Oates was blunt.

“Absolutely. Already told him,” Oates said. “Everybody has hiccups – everybody. And he’s got to understand that to me, that’s what it is.”

2. Neuvirth in relief. Michal Neuvirth made his first appearance of the season when he entered the game late in the first period. He stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced and was solid — aside from a miscue when he tried to play the puck, which ultimately led to Lance Bouma scoring Calgary’s fourth goal.

“Neuvy was great. He’s got something to prove,” Karl Alzner said. “A lot of people are counting him out and a lot of attention is going to Holtsy. Sometimes people forget how good of a goalie Neuvy is and we needed that big time out of him.”

The coaching staff has asked Neuvirth to work on his puck-handling skills and during the preseason there was a definite improvement. But in the second period when he ventured behind the net to corral the puck he tripped on his way around the net. That mistake allowed Brian McGrattan to gain possession of the puck and send it out in front to Bouma, who shot into an empty net.

“After I gave up that goal it kind of crush my confidence with the puck but just another experience,” Neuvirth said. “I’ve got to learn from the mistakes, keep working in practice and try to get better every day. “

3. Redemption for Carrick. The rookie defenseman wanted a better all-around performance in his second game and he delivered. After taking a hooking penalty in the second period, Carrick stepped out of the penalty box to receive a head-man pass from Marcus Johansson. Carrick skated in alone on net, pulled the puck around Karri Ramo’s toe and put the Capitals on the board.

Then he was treated to the rite of passage that is having Alex Ovechkin smash a towel full of shaving cream in your face afterwards.

“That was more how I imagined my first game going, not so much the goal, but managing the puck – being good defensively,” Carrick said. “I was happy to get back on the horse and have a performance that I felt I could build on.”

4. Even strength questions. The Capitals have been outscored 8-3 at even strength through two games and some of the same problems they experienced in Chicago were evident early against Calgary. Turnovers were abundant, the defense wasn’t as well orchestrated as it should be and those factors caught up to them. They’ll continue to do so if Washington can’t clean up its game in the defensive zone.

But when the power play is 5-for-9 through two games it can be easy to rely on that unit, even if Oates would rather the team not make it the primary focus.

“I’m so leery about focusing so much on our power play,” Oates said. “You don’t want the guys thinking oh we can wait until we get a power play. No you’ve got to play hockey. You get three power plays a game that’s 6 minutes. There’s 54 minutes you’re not focused on. To me, I want our power play to be solid but we have to have all aspects of our game solid.”

5. Shots. Alex Ovechkin took 11 shots on goal against the Flames, bringing him to a two-game total of 20. Looking at attempted shots that were either blocked or missed the target, Ovechkin has 11 more between the two contests. Remember back to the 2011-12 season when Ovechkin recorded only 303 shots on goal? It was a relatively down year for him – he took 220 to lead the league once again in the lockout shortened season. Oates has talked a lot about Ovechkin getting more touches, more time with the puck, more opportunity to shoot. Looks like he’s taking advantage.

Washington Times LOADED: 10.05.2013

719655 Winnipeg Jets

5-3 win shows Jets can hold court with Kings

By: Ed Tait

Posted: 10/4/2013 12:02 PM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 10/4/2013 11:09 PM | Updates

They are really digging their new neighbourhood among the tall trees in the National Hockey League’s Western Conference.

And while there were some iffy moments down the stretch — the Jets held a 4-1 advantage before a pair of late power-play goals by the Kings made things far more interesting than the home side wanted — they did improve to 2-0 courtesy some big-time contributions from some of the usual faces.

Evander Kane scored twice, Ondrej Pavelec was outstanding, Dustin Byfuglien was a force, Bryan Little and Olli Jokinen were solid, while the work of new faces like Devin Setoguchi, Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba was also critical in the win.

Most importantly, the Jets fulfilled one of their primary objectives heading into the season: to be hard to play against.

"I think we’ve stressed we need to play the right way on a nightly basis," said captain Andrew Lad. "That’s the biggest thing. We’ve seen it in spurts over the last couple of years, and being on the outside looking in we’ve realized that’s not good enough. What we’ve come up with as a group is that we want that every night and we’ve stressed that. I think you’ve seen that so far."

Home debut redux

The home-opener win was the Jets’ first since their rebirth in Winnipeg after serving up two duds in their first attempts — the 5-1 stinker to Montreal in Year 1 and last season’s 4-1 yawner against Ottawa. And, just FYI, the last time this franchise opened a campaign with consecutive wins was 2009-10 when the Atlanta Thrashers knocked off Tampa and St. Louis.

On Friday both Kane and Blake Wheeler pointed to using their speed and physical play to key a home-ice turnaround this season — the Jets had just the 21st-best home record last season — and while they were outshot 18-7 in the first period, the two clubs were knotted at 1-1 and Winnipeg had dominated the hit parade 13-7.

"You put the puck in the net in this building and you get to feed off the crowd," Ladd said. "The energy was awesome. We need to keep putting the puck in the net here because it’s fun to play here when the crowd is energized."

Engaged, all right

With apologies to Pavelec, who was outstanding — especially early — the best player on the ice was Kane. Interestingly, his engagement to longtime girlfriend Ashley Chamberland was all over social media late Thursday and No. 9 was certainly engaged against the Kings. His stat line was absolutely gaudy: two goals, one assist, eight shots, five hits, nine minutes in penalties — including a second-period scrap with Colin Fraser — along with one blocked shot in 14 minutes and 38 second of ice time.

"We got to the body early and against a team like L.A. you have to let them know you’re not going to be run out of your own building," said Kane. "We did a good job of sticking up for each other and being physical. Those kinds of things lead to turnovers and people second guessing themselves."

The kids are all right

The Jets may be concerned about all the hype surrounding Trouba and Scheifele, but the two first-rounders are already staples on the second line and second defence pairing. Scheifele, who looks far more comfy now than in the pre-season, picked up an assist, drew a couple of penalties and was plus-2 while Trouba played 20:53 and was solid through 40 minutes before a pair of giveaways in the third period.