With 23 games remaining in the regular season, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe wants to balance changes to his lines while building chemistry.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired centers Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues, Sheldon Keefe was gifted all kinds of exciting possibilities about how to deploy his lines.
While he initially went with one look through the first four games, he's moved onto a different look. One that will see Mitch Marner move up to skate with forwards Michael Bunting and Auston Matthews. William Nylander moves over to skate with John Tavares and Ryan O'Reilly at center.
"William with O’Reilly was something on my list of things I wanted to look at at some point," the Maple Leafs head coach said of the change. "It just gives me an opportunity to continue to check down on the different things I want to look at here on the remaining schedule."
The Maple Leafs have 23 games remaining on the schedule and Keefe wants to look at several different things, while also letting the lines breathe a bit. It's a difficult balancing act with much to figure out and so little time.
"I don’t want to be bouncing around with every game, "Keefe explained. "go
Nylander is enjoying a breakout season with the Maple Leafs. He scored the overtime winner in a 2-1 victory against the Minnesota Wild on Friday.
Nylander's 33rd goal of the season, he's one away from matching his career high and leads the team with a seven-goal gap (Tavares and Matthews have 26).
For O'Reilly, it will give the veteran center another skilled winger who is red hot.
"I think it’ll be good. We can use that dynamicness and just create off that," O'Reilly said of Nylander. "We want to start with doing things the right way first and build it from there, but offensively work with him and being in tight and getting open."
The move also gives Matthews a different look.
The reigning Hart Trophy and Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy winner has had a bit of a down-year offensively, although this wasn't the main reason from Keefe to make the swap.
"Obviously we hope that would be one of the benefits," Keefe said. " I think Auston and Willy have been really good throughout the season. In both ways, I think Willy’s helped Auston. Auston’s helped Willy. We have a pretty good sense now that (Tavares, O’Reilly, Marner) are comfortable and confident working with John being on the wing, we’ll stay with that. I’ve been wanting to make sure Willy gets time. The timing works here with us going on the road here, it’s important for a stint."
The Maple Leafs embark on their longest road trip of the season in terms of days (11). They begin on Sunday when they visit the Seattle Kraken before three games in Western Canada. They finish things off on Mar. 7 against the New Jersey Devils.
It's likely after that road trip concludes, Keefe will adopt some other changes. One of those likely includes moving Tavares back at center, which the coach admitted to as another move being contemplated.