NIAGARA FALLS — With most of their roster set to return, the Maple Leafs might have used their eight exhibition games to decide their fourth line and the last two or three spots on defence.
Mike Babcock has other plans, which don’t include a September holiday for stars such as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner or warhorse defenceman Ron Hainsey. The coach intends to get all the big names in at least four pre-season games each, a schedule that starts Monday with a home-and-home in Ottawa.
“They need the exhibition games, right off the get-go,” Babcock stressed Sunday as the Leafs boarded buses home from a three-day session here.