The Toronto Maple Leafs may not be done tinkering with their lineup between now and training camp. So we did our best to look at projected lines for opening night.
We’ve had some peace and quiet when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs over the weekend. This comes after a houseclearing of 14 front office staff members and the additions of Daniel Alfredsson and John Gruden to Jim Hiller’s coaching staff. The Leafs have slowly but surely rounded into the deep summer of their offseason.
Are they done making signings and trades? It’s hard to say. We don’t know if Morgan Rielly will be a Maple Leaf before the start of training camp. Matthew Knies trade talk has appeared to calm down for now. So, all we’re left to do is try to project a Maple Leafs roster with the group of players they have now.
There are a few big questions heading into the season regarding the Leafs' forwards. Who will skate alongside Auston Matthews on the top line? There is also the question of where Gavin McKenna plays this season.
So, let’s get into it.
The Forward Lines
On the top line, Auston Matthews is a surefire bet to reprise his role as the club’s top center. I think one of the primary objectives this year will be to task Matthews with exploring more of his offensive side. Aligning him on the left side with McKenna may be tempting, but it may not be the best play to have the rookie start in that position. After all, Matthews started his career on the third line before eventually moving up later in the season. For whatever reason, Matthews and Knies didn’t seem to find sustained chemistry. It might make sense to put a player like the experienced Nick Paul on Matthews’ left side to be more sound defensively, thereby freeing up Matthews. On the right side, newly signed forward Jack Roslovic has experience with Matthews at the US National Development program. He also has an offensive touch, particularly in the regular season. This configuration could make a lot of sense to start the year.
On the second line, keeping John Tavares and William Nylander together seems like a logical choice. The real question is: who skates on the right side? This looks like the perfect spot for Knies.
The third line gets a little tricky. Colton Sissons is the natural fit to be the third-line center in this particular case. Starting Gavin McKenna on this line to get a feel for NHL hockey might make sense. However, there is also a risk in that you have a second-year Easton Cowan who could move to the right side of Sissons. Then you essentially have two rookies. I think this is where you could go with McKenna, Sissons, and Cowan to start. In certain situations, as McKenna gets comfortable, you can flip him up with Matthews and move Paul down to the third line.
The fourth line seems like the easiest one to figure out with Dakota Joshua on the left wing, Teddy Blueger at center, and Brandon Duhaime on the right side. Unless Joshua is moved between now and the season opener, that fourth line is the one I am most sure of at the moment.
Line projection graphic courtesy of PuckPedia.comThe Defensive Pairings
On defense, things get a little trickier with Morgan Rielly still on the roster.
The Leafs could start Rielly on the left side of newly signed defenseman Darren Raddysh. Toronto would then likely reprise the Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev duo, provided Tanev is back to form. You then have a third pair of Oliver Ekman-Larsson with Troy Stecher. If Rielly is moved, that would open a spot for left-handed 24-year-old defenseman Emil Andrae to step into the top six somewhere.
Goaltending
The goalies are the easiest pieces to figure out at the moment. Sergei Bobrovsky is your starter with the expectation that he’ll play over 50 games, while Anthony Stolarz backs him up.
Line projection graphic courtesy of PuckPedia.comLooking Ahead
Whatever the opening-night lineup ends up being, you can expect a lot of changes. With training camp cut down significantly to accommodate an 84-game regular season and a start date in late September, the first handful of games will probably act as a bit of a preseason in its own right to see what works and what doesn't.
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