Maple Leafs Final Cuts: Editor in Leaf Roundtable

The Toronto Maple Leafs are less than a week away from starting the 2017-18 season.

With training camp winding down and some more cuts sure to be on the way, what better time for one our favorite things: the Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable.  As usual, we all gathered around a very big, very round table to discuss the state of the Maple Leafs.

This week, our topic is the final roster.  Specifically, we were asked to play GM and make the final cuts to the roster.  Who do you want to see? Who would you let go?

With the Leafs set to open the season using 20 goal rookie Connor Brown on the fourth line, competition for jobs could not be any hotter.  The team has clear openings on the fourth line and on the bottom defensive pairing, however, Mike Babcock always preaches that the best players will make the team, regardless of preconceived notions, so there is always the chance of a surprise or two.

With that in mind, let’s get down to business.

D.J Llewellyn

For the hot stove: My final roster would contain all the obvious players, but I’d bench Matt Martin in favour of Josh Leivo. Leivo is too talented not to use and can be moved up and down the lineup.

I’d also make sure Kapanen at least has a right wing spot on the 4th line. He was great in the AHL last year and after cutting his teeth in the playoffs with the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s time for him to be a Leaf full time.

As for defence, I think a bottom pair with Calle Rosen and Connor Carrick looks good to start the year. Carrick isn’t half bad and a right shot. Rosen has looked good in camp, has lots of speed, and is a bit older than Dermott and Borgman. Allowing those two to rip up the AHL would hardly be a bad thing. Borgman looks promising and needs more time. Dermott could definitely challenge for that last spot, but right now it’s real close.

Josh Tessler

As some of you have seen in my last two posts on Editor in Leaf, I would prefer Timothy Liljegren, Calle Rosen and Andreas Borgman to be sent down to the Toronto Marlies to develop.

Liljegren, Rosen and Borgman are used to playing European hockey and haven’t played much in North America aside from pre-season hockey. The Swedes will likely spend next season with Sheldon Keefe and his coaching staff. For the last two defensive spots, I’d go with Connor Carrick and Travis Dermott.

While Connor Carrick didn’t have the best pre-season, he does have NHL experience and would give the third defensive pairing a solid shot on the blue-line. Some folks might prefer Marincin over Dermott on the third pairing. But, Dermott has definitely proved during the pre-season that he is ready to play on the big stage at the Air Canada Centre. In the pre-season, Dermott looked like a solid mobile two-way defenseman and might be solid line-mate with Carrick.

Moving to the fourth offensive line. It will likely be Tyler Bozak, Kasperi Kapanen and Matt Martin. Tyler Bozak on the fourth line? Yep! The Leafs have a tremendous amount of depth at centre this season. Kadri will play on the third, Nylander on the second and Matthews on the first. Personally, I don’t think Bozak will last long on the fourth line.

He likely will be traded before the deadline as the Toronto Maple Leafs look to add a strong defensive defenseman. I believe that Kapanen will be on the fourth line and should be playing with the Leafs all season. He had a strong season last year with the Marlies and should be a decent fit with Bozak. Of course, you need Matt Martin. This fourth line would not be complete with your grinder. Matt Martin will also be extremely useful on the penalty kill, so I assume Lou will not assign Martin to the Marlies.

James Tanner

The Toronto Maple Leafs roster is amazing.  Probably the deepest overall in the NHL.  I don’t really think they can screw it up, since there is just so much talent.   That said, I don’t think what I’d do is anything close to the reality of what will actually happen.

But the question wasn’t to guess what the lineup would look like (that’s super boring) but rather to say what you’d do.

So first thing I’d do is put Nylander at centre, with Marner taking his place on the first line with Matthews and Hyman.  I’d then have Nylander centre JVR and Kapanen.   My third line would be the current Marleau-Kadri-Komarov unit, and on the fourth line I’d have Aaltonen centring Connor Brown and Josh Lievo.

Tyler Bozak would be offered around the league for draft picks, and if no one was buying, I’d waive him and  happily take the cap savings.

For defense, my first pairing is Jake Gardiner and Connor Carrick.  I think they were the Leafs best pairing last year by a mile (the stats back this up) and see no reason to mess with near perfection.

The second pairing is Morgain Rielly with Timothy Liljegren.  I saw him play one game and I was impressed.  These two will outskate anyone they come up against, and they’ll keep the puck moving north.  I would just choose their minutes carefully and get them good matchups.

Finally, my bottom pairing would be Nikita Zaitsev and Martin Marincin.  Last year they were dynamite when paired together and put up a 56% possession rating.  It was for a short time, but bare minimum, I want to see more of them together.

For my seventh pairing, just give me either Rosen or Borgman, either one, I still can’t tell them apart.

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?

John Krpan

Fourth Line C, 5D, 6D, and 7D. Those are the only spots available on the opening night roster for the Maple Leafs. Lets start with the 4C spot…

I have a different approach than probably most. If I were Mike Babcock and/or Lou Lamoriello, I would move Leo Komarov to 4C, move Brown to Kadri’s wing, and swap in Kapanen on the 4th line wing with Leo and Martin. The thinking is simple. We do not have a 4C, but we do have 8, 9, 10, 11 and maybe even 12 decent wingers. Why are we trying to find a 4C that we do not really have and keep NHL caliber wingers in the press box or the Marlies?

This seems like an obvious fix to me. If you really want, have the fourth line be Martin, Leo, and Brown, with Kappy on Kadri’s wing. And now for the more boring approach at defense… The 5th D should be Connor Carrick because he knows the role. He played in the spot all last season adequately. He was not good enough to play many minutes into the playoffs, but Carrick still has room to grow while being a good enough 5D.

At 6D we should sign Polak. For similar reasons as to Connor Carrick, he is adequate enough. But also, because he can kill penalties better than any of the other options like Borgman, or Rosen, or Dermott. At 7D we should have Martin Marincin. Let Borgman and Rosen and Dermott play big hard minutes in the AHL and when we have an injury, call up one of these guys.

Lauren Kelly

I think the Toronto Maple Leafs have the same idea I do. I believe it will be Miro Aaltonen in the final 4C spot – he’s looked a lot better than Dominic Moore this preseason in terms of faceoffs and defensive plays, and for a player who played more of an offensive game in Finland, he’s proven he can play at the other end of the ice without fault as well.

I think the stricter faceoff calls really hurt Moore at the beginning, he hasn’t looked like the player the Leafs hoped to be getting when they signed him. I also think Calle Rosen will take the final spot on the blueline. I was impressed by the confidence he had on the ice and I think it ultimately will come down to him and Dermott.

Borgman has an outside shot, and Liljegren still needs more development in the AHL (not a huge deal). Rosen has really stood out as a calm, steady presence and even though he’s never played in the NHL, he looked all right playing on that third pair, whether it was with Dermott or Carrick. As far as the backup goalie situation goes, Curtis McElhinney is your obvious choice because although he hasn’t played very well in the preseason, he’s there for a reason. Kasimir Kaskisuo has been the better of the remaining three goalies but he didn’t start much for the Marlies last season and spent most of his time in the ECHL. Garret Sparks may challenge for the backup position but I can’t see the Leafs sending McElhinney to the Marlies. There isn’t a large enough gap to justify that, so for now, McElhinney is their guy.

Eduardo Razo

Focusing on the defense, Calle Rosen has slowly become my pick for the bottom pair defenseman. Travis Dermott has played well, but he has top-four defenseman potential. The second-year pro is better off playing more minutes in the American Hockey League rather than playing bottom pairing minutes. Rosen has shown his smooth skating ability, and as a left-handed shot; he fits nicely with Connor Carrick who shoots right-handed.

Before the game versus the Montreal Canadiens, Rosen skated alongside the regulars, so he’s impressing Mike Babcock and believe that’s an indication of where he stands. Another battle that’s going on is the fourth line center, and Miro Aaltonen should win this position spot over veteran Dominic Moore. Aaltonen has shown some chemistry alongside Matt Martin, as the duo connected for a goal versus Montreal.

Moore’s second stint in Toronto will be a short one because Aaltonen is also skating with the regulars. The newcomers in Rosen and Aaltonen have made a name for themselves this preseason. These are the that I’d like to see on the team in Winnipeg. Rosen is an upgrade over Roman Polak; he may not possess the physical and mean streak, but he’s a better skater than Polak with speed. Aaltonen appears to have more of an offensive upside than Moore which will help someone like Connor Brown; to have a linemate with skill and even Martin seems to have developed some chemistry with the Finnish winger.

Mike Stephens

The first move I would make as the Toronto Maple Leafs GM would be trading Matt Martin to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau. Based on the Demers trade, Dale Tallon has already set that market, leaving no doubt that I could pull it off.

So, with Martin gone, Kasperi Kapanen hs now earned the 4th line LW job. I’d then waive Eric Fehr, letting him either be claimed by another team, or be sent to the Marlies. His departure would now gift the 4th line center spot to Miro Aaltonen, who has absolutely earned it with a solid pre-season.

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I’d hang onto Dominic Moore, making him the extra center. He’s a solid option to slot in if Aaltonen struggles to adapt to the North American game. Both players make around $1 million, meaning the impact on the cap would be minimal. On defense, my first order of business would be sending Roman Polak home. He’s clearly still injured, and even when healthy last season, he was terrible. Next, I would then trade Martin Marincin to Edmonton for Jesse Puljujarvi. We all know the Oilers love to trade their young offensive talent for underwhelming D-men. It’s a match made in heaven. With both guys gone, it would pave the way for Andreas Borgman to grab the final LD spot. Calle Rosen may be older, but I believe Borgman has a higher ceiling, and has looked superb in the pre-season so far.

Him and Carrick could create a sneakily effective bottom D pair. In the end, Fehr, Martin, Polak and Marincin gone. That leaves Aaltonen, Kapanen and Borgman on the opening night roster, with Leivo and Rosen as spares. Boom.