Toronto Maple Leafs: Zach Hyman and the Fourth Line
The Toronto Maple Leafs have center depth, so I don’t want to hear otherwise.
Honestly, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a lot of centers in their system and one guy that’s been potentially overlooked for the position is Zach Hyman.
Yes, Hyman.
What if he moved down to the fourth line center role, someday?
I’m not saying to begin the 2017-18 season, not even next year at all.
Just eventually he moves down to the role and allows some of the more talented wingers to move up in the ranks.
Think about it, there are a few guys that could make more of an impact on a higher line than Hyman could and the Leafs could still utilize Hyman’s unique skill set somewhere else.
Let me break it down a little.
The Lineup Right Now
Here’s what the lines looked like towards the end of the 2016-17 season.
Hyman – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitchell Marner
Matt Martin – Brian Boyle – Nikita Soshnikon/Kasperi Kapanen
Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick – Roman Polak
Obviously, through the course of an 82 game season, the lines varied slightly.
But, this is how I saw it in the end.
Centers in the System
Now, let’s take a look at what centers are currently in the Leafs organization and are signed to a contract.
- Matthews
- Kadri
- Bozak
- Boyle
- Eric Fehr
- Frederik Gauthier
- Komarov
- Nylander
- Marner
- Ben Smith
- Hyman
- Trevor Moore
- Miro Aaltonen
- Seth Griffith
- Brooks Laich
We already know that Matthews, Kadri, Bozak, Komarov, Nylander and Marner won’t ever be a fourth line center, so they’re exempt.
Boyle and Fehr both don’t fit into the long-term plan with the Leafs, so they’re out as well.
Gauthier will be a center for the Leafs, whether that’s on the fourth or third line or not is still up for debate and I’d like to think of Smith as the Leafs safety net at this position.
Then, there’s Griffith and Laich, but we know they aren’t the solution.
We’re left with just Hyman, Moore, and Aaltonen, but for the sake of making things easy, I’m going to say Hyman’s the last useable option.
Hopefully, I’m not forgetting anyone, but please let me know if I am.
Bozak, Gauthier, and Hyman
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I’m not quite sure if the Leafs have a long-term plan for Bozak and that’s why I think both Gauthier and Hyman could make an impact in the position.
I like Bozak a lot, it’s just difficult to see him fitting in for years to come.
We already know Gauthier will slot in somewhere, but what if he’s better than fourth line material?
Matthews and Kadri are long-term pieces at center and will dominate the first and second line, so those two are covered.
How I see it is that maybe Gauthier will develop his game even more and fill the third line role, making room for Hyman on the fourth.
Again, this isn’t going to happen overnight as it will take some time to form and Bozak’s still in the system.
Just a thought.
This could then make room for a Josh Leivo type to play on the Matthews line, which is something I’d love to see.
Then again, there’s a lot of options there.