Sam Lafferty is standing in the corner of the Maple Leafs locker room trying to improve my golf swing and it’s not going well.
My problem is that I can’t stop slicing the ball off the tee. Lafferty, the Maple Leafs’ newly acquired forward, has more urgent things on his mind.
While some Leafs offer more golf instruction (Jake Muzzin’s advice: “You’re probably going to do a little bit of diving on your back. Activate the core. It keeps you more stable. Guaranteed”), Lafferty, who played golf at Brown University, is more comfortable focusing on his leaving innate understanding of the game.
“Whenever it ends up where you want it, try to repeat it,” Lafferty offered with a smile.
“I expected a little more,” I tell him.
“It’s more about getting the shot. The tactical side…that can come to mind myself,” Lafferty said.
Perhaps there was a time when Lafferty would have been more intent on detailing the intricacies of a reporter’s golf swing. But in just over a month, Lafferty’s life has completely changed and will continue to do so. Golf is an important part of Lafferty’s identity, yes, but not yet.
After finding his groove as a spirited NHL forward on a struggling Blackhawks team, while hitting career highs in goals and points while playing a physical game, Lafferty was traded to the Leafs just before the trade deadline. The road trip with the Leafs meant he didn’t set foot in Toronto until a full 10 days after trading.
He promises to have a regular role on a Leafs team that will play in a playoff run that could change the franchise.
And in the middle of that run, Lafferty will be a father. His wife Madison is due to give birth to a boy in early April.
“It was all a whirlwind,” said Lafferty.
As Lafferty tries to settle into his new life, he’ll also look to bring the same high-energy play to a Leafs team that will need it in the playoffs against a veteran Lightning team.
“The more comfortable he gets, the more he keeps climbing,” said Lafferty’s brother-in-law, Sabers defenseman Riley Stillman, who has known him for nearly 10 years. “He didn’t do anything but just got better and better. He’s a perfect match for Toronto.”
At the age of six, Lafferty picked up a golf club for the first time and started playing hockey at the same time. His love for both games grew and the balance of playing one sport in the fall and winter and the other in the spring and summer only served him well.
For many professional ice hockey players, golf is a favorite pastime. But Lafferty was talented enough that golf would never remain just a hobby. He found that as he continued to play both hockey and golf, he became a more versatile athlete.
“The two opposites complement each other well in every game,” said Lafferty.
After being drafted by the Penguins in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Draft, Lafferty played on both Brown’s golf and hockey teams. As his offensive game improved at Brown, he found his golfing become more consistent. But his quest for improvement continued.
In the summer of 2021, near his hometown of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, Lafferty attempted to qualify for the US amateur tournament at the Sunnehanna Country Club, of which he is a member. That consistency got him through the first day of qualifying when he scored a 75. Day two was far less nice and his 77 saw him eliminated.
Lafferty spends his off-season in Arizona, where there is no shortage of excellent golf courses and opportunities to play with Stillman.
“He’s giving me five shots every game and it’s demeaning how much he’s still hitting me by,” Stillman said.
As cliché as it may be, Lafferty knows his time on the golf course could taper off this summer once his son arrives. Like all parents-to-be, Lafferty juggles a lot of thoughts.
“It’s a lot,” said Lafferty, a man of few words.
Madison remains with her family in Arizona, where she will give birth. The Leafs have understandably told him he can take whatever time he needs to be around Madison whenever she goes into labor. While it would be fair to Lafferty if he struggled to cope with the numerous changes in his life, those who know him believe his down-to-earth demeanor has served him well.
“[Lafferty]did a great job of taking it all in his stride,” Stillman said.
It’s easy to forget that players like Lafferty often have to deal with expectations outside of the pressures they face on the ice during playoff time. Lafferty thinks about it briefly, but isn’t the type to look for sympathy. Instead, Lafferty can’t wait for his life to take a turn for the better.
“There’s a lot I’m not used to,” Lafferty said. “But the idea of just spending time, quality time with my son, I’m looking forward to that.”
Perhaps surprisingly, Lafferty is using the heightened expectations he has for the next few weeks of his life as fuel. With his all-world wheels and willingness to use his body, he’s a player who has only one speed: full throttle. And so he hasn’t let himself be distracted amid the uncertainty of what’s to come next. On the contrary, when his adrenaline is pumping, he’s even more effective given his playstyle.
“I’m trying to soak it all up,” Lafferty said. “It’s going to be a lot, but I’m looking forward to everything.”
It’s not just off the ice that his life will change. After just one postseason game for the Penguins, Lafferty will likely play in a full playoff series for the first time in his career.
His versatility as a player made him desirable for the Leafs for the playoffs. Lafferty began his Toronto tenure on the wing, but an injury to Ryan O’Reilly saw him transition to a central role at center. In his first game at center, a 4-3 win over the Devils on March 7, Lafferty showed his high-end speed, catching two Devils players on the heels, cleanly penetrating the offensive zone, and a perfect Pass to a deficit was given by William Nylander before the Leafs opened the scoring.
“I thought we really saw signs of what Lafferty is capable of putting the other team on their heels with his speed. He’s done that at different times in previous games with us, but more off the puck when setting up ice and applying pressure,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after defeating the Devils over Lafferty.
It’s Lafferty’s ability to use his speed in a variety of ways, whether it’s through the neutral zone with the puck or to quickly apply pressure to the opponent at the forecheck, that could make him valuable in a bottom-six role in playoff time. Should Keefe put O’Reilly on a third centerline, Lafferty’s speed could play to O’Reilly’s intelligence on the wing. Yet the Leafs like what Lafferty was able to do as a center for the Blackhawks against top lines of opposition. Perhaps he remains as a spark in a third centerline between Alex Kerfoot and Calle Järnkrok, two players who also rely heavily on their hockey IQs to influence games.
“His style of play, his identity, the way he’s willing to buy into any system (the Leafs) they want to play: if you give him a job, he’ll be successful. He’s ready for anything,” Stillman said.
That “something” Stillman points out while widening his eyes is his physicality. Lafferty plays taller than his 6ft-1 frame dictates, which meant Stillman had to keep his eyes peeled on the ice ahead of a game between the two family members on Monday.
“Just because I’m his brother-in-law and we’re good friends,” Stillman said, “that doesn’t mean anything anymore.”
Stillman knows pace and physicality will be important for the Leafs in the playoff period, even as Lafferty juggles his other newfound responsibilities.
Life came fast for Lafferty, yes. But that’s the pace he’s comfortable with.
“I just want to put my speed and energy into it,” said Lafferty, “wherever I’m in the lineup.”
(Photo: John E. Sokolowski / USA Today)
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