Bobrovsky Is Speaking in the Maple Leafs Room. So What?

Some hockey stories make you stop and ask, “Okay, but so what?” Sergei Bobrovsky becoming one of the biggest voices in the Maple Leafs' dressing room is one of them.

It's interesting, certainly. Elliotte Friedman says Bobrovsky doesn't talk all the time, but when he does, players listen. That's quite a thing to hear about a 38-year-old goalie who has just arrived in Toronto after winning back-to-back Stanley Cups.

But why does Bobrovsky talking matter?

I think it matters because of who is already in that room. Auston Matthews is the captain. He's also never struck me as the kind of leader who needs to dominate a room with his voice. Matthews' leadership has generally been more about what he does on the ice. He works. He scores. He carries a huge part of the team's offensive burden. He isn't exactly known as the guy who grabs a microphone and gives a five-minute speech.

And maybe that's okay. In fact, maybe this is where Bobrovsky becomes interesting. The Maple Leafs don't necessarily need another player trying to become the team’s voice. They might need different voices doing different jobs.

Matthews can be the captain who leads by example. Bobrovsky can be the veteran who has seen enough hockey to know when something needs to be said. William Nylander can lead in his own way. The older defencemen can bring their own voices. The younger players can listen, learn and eventually find their own.

Every NHL team's “room” is probably different.

And perhaps that's what has been missing in Toronto for a long time. Not leadership exactly, but a collection of leadership styles that actually fit together. Bobrovsky has been through the grinder. He's played 117 playoff games. He's won Stanley Cups. He's had spectacular seasons and awful ones. He's been criticized, bounced back and played in some of the biggest games imaginable.

So when he talks about pressure, players don't have to imagine what he means. He's lived it. The fascinating part is that none of this guarantees anything.

Bobrovsky can become the most respected guy in the room and still give up a bad goal at the wrong time. Leadership doesn't turn a .877 save percentage into a .920. The Leafs still need the goalie to stop the puck.

What could happen if Bobrovsky can walk the talk?

But if Bobrovsky can do that and become a trusted voice beside a quieter captain like Matthews, Toronto may have stumbled into something it didn't necessarily know it was buying. That's the “so what?”

Maybe Bobrovsky isn't there to replace Matthews as the Maple Leafs’ voice. Maybe he's there to give Matthews a different voice beside him. And sometimes, that's exactly what a captain needs. The Maple Leafs don't necessarily need another player trying to become the team’s voice. They might need different voices doing different jobs.