Happy, Jack? Leafs’ Jack Campbell is number one in Toronto and number one in the NHL

It happened Monday at the Ford Performance Center, when the Maple Leafs were practicing a shooting. Something that looked like a trophy, albeit with a strange and never-before-seen design, suddenly appeared in the center of the ice.

Players didn’t really know what was going on or why this cylindrical-shaped piece of metal was on the ice.

“I’ve never seen that before, to be honest,” defender Rasmus Sandin said. “I was surprised. I didn’t even know what it was for, so no one told us. I was standing on the ice there for no reason.”

Goalkeeping coach Steve Briere built the trophy and goalkeeper Jack Campbell put it there.

“We just wanted to create an internal competition for practice day,” Campbell said. “We are already competing, but we just wanted to risk something. So either the guy or the team that does the best in shootouts gets the trophy. “

It felt random. It’s not the weirdest thing a goalkeeper ever said or did, but it is proof that the goalkeeping community does things differently.

“The only thing I can say about that is that goalkeeping coaches and goalies in general do strange things, but you usually give them some rope, because they are very important to the team,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

“If I had known what the trophy was for, I probably would have (skated with it),” Sandin said. “But it’s funny that he brought it up. Jack is one of those guys who likes to joke around and has funny things to tell the team. It’s great to have that. “

Campbell is doing other things never seen before. He has seized the role of number one goalkeeper for the Leafs, a decade after Dallas drafted him in the first round and six years after his last game in the ECHL.

A 2016 trade to the Los Angeles Kings put him in the hands of goalkeeping coach Bill Ranford and others in the Kings system, who helped him change his game by changing his mind. Dusty Imoo, now persona non grata for some politically charged retweets, deserves credit for rebuilding Campbell’s game. Campbell no longer thinks his world is ending because he let in a goal; he is still his harshest critic, but he handles his self-criticism better.

“All I’ll say about that is I really appreciate that Jim Nill changed me to Los Angeles, Dean Lombardi changed me in Los Angeles, and they really helped me a lot and really got me going,” Campbell said. “Obviously, since I came to Toronto, Steve Briere has been incredible to me. We just try to improve every day.

“I am really grateful to be here.”

Campbell was known as Happy Jack in the Dallas system. It fits. He seems always smiling, always in a good mood. But there’s Soupy in Toronto. Or, as they call the fans at Scotiabank Arena, “Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucho”.

He succeeds night after night, except after salvage.

“He’s so solid, he’s so focused right now and we trust him completely,” defender Justin Holl said. “He has been there for us every time we need him.”

It’s good too, due to Petr Mrázek’s continuing groin problems.

Campbell is on track to play in 68 games this season, an unsustainable number in the modern world of load management. It is not unheard of. Frederik Andersen played 66 games for the Leafs in 2017-18. Felix Potvin holds the team record: 74 games, in 1996-97.

But the idea was for Campbell and Mrázek to share the network. The Leafs aren’t ready to give prospect Joseph Woll, or any other goalkeeper, the starts Mrázek would have had, so they’re taking advantage of Campbell’s hot hand.

“We are aware of it,” Keefe said of Campbell’s workload. “But it has been really good. Not just his game, I think the way we handled it in training has helped him. Sometimes the team, in matches, can help with their workload. “

Keefe brought up Toronto’s 3-0 win over Nashville. It was Campbell’s third shutout, but it was also a light night in terms of shots faced.

“I think it was three shots in the first 17 minutes of the third,” Keefe said. Those kinds of things also go a long way in that workload.

“So I think he has handled it very well. I think he has become very comfortable with his body. The medical team has handled it very well. In terms of energy levels, I think it’s in a very good place. “

Campbell is in such a good place that he could make his way onto the US Olympic team Heading into the season, the favorites for the three goalkeeping jobs appeared to be Connor Hellebuyck, John Gibson and Thatcher Demko. But, after Thursday’s win over the Rangers, Campbell leads the NHL in wins (10), goals-against average (1.68) and save percentage (.944).

“There’s really no time to think about it other than now, and that’s what I’m doing,” Campbell said of the team USA talk. “Every time you represent your country, it’s one of the greatest honors you can have.

“As a player, you are competitive, you want to do the best you can for your team … and I am focused on being the best I can for the Toronto Maple Leafs.”