DUNEDIN, FLA.—As they went through their spring paces at a cold and rainy Bobby Mattick centre on Sunday, many of the Blue Jays were paying attention, like a lot of fans, to the NHL trade deadline that arrives Monday. The leader of the horsehide Friends of the Maple Leafs is Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia and even though he won’t second-guess GM Brian Burke, he did offer his encouragement to Leaf fans.

“I honestly couldn’t sit here and say what they need to do, because I’m not that knowledgeable,” Arencibia said. “But as far as the team, I think they’re very close. They were hot for a while in the beginning of the season. I know lately they have struggled a little bit. You try to minimize the rough patches as much as possible, so I think obviously with the trade deadline coming up, we’ll see if they make a move or whatever they do. I think they’re a good team, they just need to get back on track.”

Arencibia is a Cuban-American, raised in South Florida and educated at the University of Tennessee. His path to becoming an NHL fan has been far from traditional. He started out following his cousin, who played organized roller hockey, then he attended Panthers games as a young ballplayer. But it really accelerated in January of 2011 when he joined the Jays’ winter tour across a frozen Canada.

“It was huge,” Arencibia recalled of the eye-opening trip to western Canada. “You always hear how hockey games in Canada are different. Obviously in Vancouver, it was a crazy game. In Calgary, it was a crazy game. The fans are into it from the drop of the puck till the end of the game. It’s special.”

The 26-year-old catcher now attends a lot of Predators games at his home in Nashville and stays in touch with many of the Leafs year-round via social media. The recent Team Unit charitable campaign spearheaded by Arencibia and Leafs buddy Tyler Bozak reflects how he would feel about his Jays and Leafs ever finding a season in which they each go deep into the playoffs.

“It would be huge if both teams win,” Arencibia said. “Canadians in general are passionate about everything they do. I think the support that we have and the Leafs have throughout the country — even though they’re not the only team in Canada — you go everywhere and you see a Leafs hat. So I think if we continue, if we win, that it does something great for the city. I think everyone benefits from us winning and doing well, just bringing the culture back to the olden days of championship teams.”

Arencibia, even though he has strong opinions on what the Leafs need to do at the deadline, won’t make his feelings public because he has many friends that might be affected.

“Meeting the (Leafs), talking to the guys, it’s a great bunch of guys that they have in that clubhouse. We’ve become good friends. But I would say, yeah, it’s very comparable to our clubhouse.”

There has been an unintended repercussion resulting from Arencibia’s obvious love of everything hockey and Toronto. On Sept. 10, when he stroked a soft line-drive single to left to drive in the winning run against Kevin Gregg and the Orioles, he was doing his clubhouse interviews when a teammate handed him a hockey stick. He seamlessly flowed into a string of perfectly executed hockey clichés, as in “I went top shelf” on the third baseman who leaped and came up short. The spontaneous comedic timing was cited as a personal highlight for team president Paul Beeston, one of the Jays’ most important decision-makers outside the clubhouse.

In fact, the long-term baseball-only script with regard to the Jays’ catching situation has now been thrown out the window. The traditional thinking was that Arencibia, a nice hitter but still with some issues behind the plate, would start for a couple of seasons and that when Travis D’Arnaud, last season’s Double-A Eastern League MVP, was ready, he would be the everyday catcher in Toronto. The Jays would either find a secondary position for Arencibia or fill a need elsewhere in trade. Think again.

The Jays are always aware it’s not that easy to find high-profile players with starry skills who love it in Toronto. Arencibia, through his improved play and his passion for where he works, has thrown a wrench into any exit scenario, making the decision tougher. It’s a great problem for the Jays.

As for the NHL deadline, Arencibia may be right in not critiquing Burke’s work with the Leafs. The catcher is the GM of his own clubhouse fantasy league hockey team, drafted last September. Arencibia admitted to being in the cellar, drafting goalies Niklas Backstrom of the Wild and Al Montoya of the Islanders. Yikes. He’s clearly still got some Hockey 101 courses to take.

JAYS INJURY NOTES

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On Day 2 of full-squad workouts Sunday, right-hander Henderson Alvarez was carted off the field before he had a chance to pitch. He was playing catch with lefty Luis Perez when he was hit on the right foot by an errant curveball. Alvarez was in his regular shoes but noticeably limping around the clubhouse later in the afternoon.

Right-hander Carlos Villanueva left Saturday’s workout at the end of the day with coldness in his right hand and was not on the field Sunday. Speculation had been of a circulatory problem, but manager John Farrell could not confirm it Sunday. Villanueva is expected back in the clubhouse on Monday.