Maple Leafs Final Cuts: Editor in Leaf Roundtable

Tim Chiasson

If I’m pretending to be a GM I’m going to pretend to be Kyle Dubas, .

My picks arre, Defense (7) 1: Gardiner-Zaitsev 2: Hainsey-Rielly 3: Marincin-Rosen Extra D: Carrick

The top four group is set in stone so I’ll play along with that and only talk about the bottom pairing. Martin Marincin is not the villain the public has made him out to be. He’s a good player – and he’s a player that a lot of teams should be happy to have on their third pairing. He’s not flashy but he provides the Leafs a chance to move the puck and generate chances. If you haven’t been paying attention to how they play – and how the top teams play – that’s what they want.

Move the puck, generate chances. More good things happen with Marincin on the ice than bad things. What’s to hate about that? For Rosen I just want to see him play in the regular season in the NHL. I think he had a pretty good exhibition showing and deserves a chance to push Connor Carrick out of the way. Carrick stays as the 7th defender.

Forwards (14) 1: Hyman-Matthews-Nylander 2: Marleau-Kadri-Marner 3: Komarov-Bozak-JVR 4: Leivo-Aaltonen-Brown Extra F’s: Matt Martin, Dominic Moore

Hyman played well with Matthews so if it aint broke, don’t fix it. It’s time Nazem Kadri gets a full-time wing tandem that is talented. Marleau is a sniper, through and through, and he has the speed to hang with Mitch Marner. Why wouldn’t you pair them together with one of the most underrated centers in the NHL?

My third line is the curtain call line, because none of them will be around in 2018-2019, and some of them might not be around after Christmas. Let them feed off each other and earn their next contracts, wherever that will be. The fourth line was the toughest because the Leafs have too many talented players up front. Josh Leivo has done nothing but succeed whenever he’s been given a chance. He deserves to be on the opening night roster. Miro Aaltonen deserves the chance to prove himself in the NHL, if only because the rest of the 4C options the Leafs currently have are garbage.

Connor Brown’s new contract tells a tale of a kid who isn’t going anywhere – and nor should he. That line might be the most fun to watch out of any fourth line in the NHL if it was given a chance. As for the extra’s (Martin and Moore), well I don’t like either of them and neither deserve to play on opening night based on who they would have to take out of the lineup.

Martin can cheer Marner from the press box and Dominic Moore can be around the room for leadership, or whatever intangible he was brought in to provide for a million dollars. The odd man out is Kasperi Kapanen, who I’d rather see play than sit. Obviously once the Leafs make a move he should be up and in. He played well enough in the playoffs to get that permanent chance when it comes

The goalies aren’t even worth talking about, so that’s my 23-man roster for the Toronto Maple Leafs that, in my opinion, gives them the best chance to win every night right now. Bury who you have to bury and forget about 2-way contracts. Play your best players and win the games, that’s the goal isn’t it?