With all the additions the Toronto Maple Leafs made on July 1, and a handful of them being candidates to kill penalties, could Auston Matthews' days on the penalty kill be over?
The Toronto Maple Leafs made an abundance of additions to the forward group, particularly players for the bottom six of the roster.
Aside from goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and forwards Jack Roslovic and Nick Paul, Leafs GM John Chayka signed Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger and Brandon Duhaime on July 1.
What Sissons, Blueger and Duhaime all have in common is that they've been given penalty-killing roles with their previous teams, and throughout their careers.
With them being introduced to the Maple Leafs' lineup, could that mean Auston Matthews' days on the penalty kill are over?
This past season, the top four Maple Leafs forwards in ice time logged while shorthanded were Steven Lorentz, Calle Jarnkrok, Nicolas Roy and Scott Laughton. Since then, Roy and Laughton were shipped away at the trade deadline, and Jarnkrok remains an unsigned UFA.
Lorentz remains with two more years on his contract at $1.35 million per season, but with all the off-season additions, he'll really have to earn a spot on this new roster.
As for Matthews, who played just 60 games this past year, he ranked sixth among Maple Leafs forwards in total ice time on the penalty kill, logging 70:07 and averaged the seventh-most shorthanded ice time on the team with 1:10 of ice time per game.
His shorthanded time dropped from the 2024-25 campaign when he averaged 1:37 per game, but he was still utilized on Toronto's penalty kill.
But with the new additions, the Leafs' captain may not have to worry about that side of the game like he once did.
Sissons was the Vegas Golden Knights' leader in average shorthanded ice time at 1:28 per game and was also third on the team in total ice time on the penalty kill at 96:19 in 66 regular-season games.
Blueger, who just played 35 games for the Vancouver Canucks this past year, got plenty of time on the penalty kill. The Latvian averaged 1:52 of shorthanded ice time per game, which is tied for the second-most on the team, and a total of 65:28.
Duhaime comes from the Washington Capitals, and he's also a regular customer on the penalty kill. He averaged 1:07 of shorthanded ice time and logged a total of 90:55 of ice time, both of which ranked sixth on the team.
Not only are some penalty-killing regulars being introduced to the Maple Leafs lineup next season who could bump Matthews out of a role, but head coach Jim Hiller has also admitted that he wants to get the superstar in more offensive situations to bring back his scoring touch.
"I would agree, in the last season, we didn't see that enough from him," Hiller said of Matthews not long after the Maple Leafs hired him. "We'll help him to do that, I know he wants to do that. Great offensive players love to have the puck. We'll look at ways to get him more of those types of opportunities."
One way to do that is to have Matthews focus on his offensive game. He's had plenty of defensive responsibilities, but with less time on the penalty kill, or even fewer starts in the defensive zone, he can spend his energy on being the offensive weapon that he once was for Toronto.
See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
