Toronto Maple Leafs: Rolling out Four Lines of Dominance
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a unique opportunity in front of them.
When the puck drops in October for the Toronto Maple Leafs, they’ll be able to ice four lines of pure dominance.
There are so many names on this team that’s worth noting, instead of the old days where we relied on Phil ‘The Thrill’ Kessel, Dion Phaneuf, and Joffrey Lupul, we now have ‘MNM’ to lead the way.
I’m glad that caught on for Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitchell Marner, all of which the Leafs can afford.
Shameless plug, I know.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, what a great time to be alive, eh?
Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole came back on the air last night and it was fantastic, not to mention that a lot of the Leafs players have returned to Toronto and are on the ice together.
Folks, we’re 13 days away from the Leafs first preseason game and 29 days away from their first regular season game.
It’s that close, get ready.
School started up again today for many of your kids, I’m literally wearing white after Labour Day and it’s just that time of year.
Okay, let’s circle back and get to the topic at hand.
Up the Middle
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Mike Babcock has the tools to roll out four lines of pure dominance from the very start of the season to the very end.
Let’s take a quick look at the faceoff win percentage from the 2016-17 season for our four main centermen.
- Matthews: 46.8% (84th overall)
- Tyler Bozak: 56.7% (7th overall)
- Nazem Kadri: 48% (76th overall)
- Dominic Moore: 54.6% (21st overall)
Matthews will improve, remember that he was just a rookie last year, Bozak is already a stud and can be relied on plenty, Kadri can improve and Moore is quite trustworthy.
That’s pretty solid up the middle if you ask me.
Winning faceoffs are vital in today’s game and if anyone tells you otherwise, they’re just wrong.
There’s a chance that some juggling could occur concerning this position, specifically talking of Bozak and what’s going to happen with him.
However, with the centers already in the system (not naming Nylander), I’m not too worried about someone stepping in and filling his shoes temporarily.
One, Two, Three, Four
The Leafs have an abundance of wingers in the system, which is terrific.
Here’s a quick look at my projected forward lines for puck drop in October, subject to an alteration at some point.
Patrick Marleau – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitchell Marner
Zach Hyman – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown
Leo Komarov – Dominic Moore – Matt Martin
There’s no question about the first two lines because they are out there to sustain offensive zone pressure and put the puck in the net.
The only bugaboo is that nobody has seen Marleau skate with any of the above, so it’s hard to predict exactly where he’ll end up.
It just seems logical that he’d skate with Matthews.
As for the Bozak line, why fix what ain’t broke?
The answer is that you don’t.
Hyman/Komarov
I went back and forth on Hyman and Komarov, trying to decide who would skate with Kadri and Moore.
In my opinion, it makes more sense to have Hyman skate with Kadri and Brown because he can play a shutdown/checking role, being offensively aware second and defensively minded first.
Not that Komarov can’t, but let me explain.
That kid gets to more pucks than anyone else on the ice, so why not make a shutdown line able to score more?
Between the three of them, they put up 62 goals last season.
They can still act as that shutdown offensively minded forward group while scoring goals and I think that Hyman just adds to that.
Adding Komarov to the Moore/Martin line really packs a punch, quite literally.
Would you want to play again that line?
There’s a snowball’s chance in hell that opposing players wouldn’t fear those three playing together.
We know that Komarov can produce points, Moore is trustworthy in any zone and can establish himself as a good penalty kill specialist, while Martin can just sustain pressure anywhere on the ice while racking up the hits.
Recapping
To recap, you have two lines that can score, deserving top man on man matching, one line that can play at both ends of the ice well and a fourth line that can potentially swing a game in their favor.
Those are four lines of pure dominance and I’m not even delving into depth regarding Kasperi Kapanen, Josh Leivo, and company.
That’s scary good that we can have this conversation without mentioning either of their names.
Just imagine Kapanen and Leivo in that lineup, which will be possible soon.
I just don’t know when.