Editor In Leaf
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Toronto Maple Leafs: Possible Line Alterations Without JVR

By Andrew Boehmer

Toronto, ON - OCTOBER, 23 In third period action, Toronto Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) is slow to get up and catch up to the play after getting his legs tangled in the Kings end.The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.October, 23 2017 (Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Toronto, ON - OCTOBER, 23 In third period action, Toronto Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) is slow to get up and catch up to the play after getting his legs tangled in the Kings end.The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.October, 23 2017 (Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are rolling in the wins.

During the 2016-17 campaign, the Toronto Maple Leafs were lucky to not run into serious injury issues and I’m not saying they’re going to this season.

However, I know you all saw that gruesome fall that James van Riemsdyk took Monday night against the LA Kings along the boards, it was bad.

Luckily, van Riemsdyk stayed in the game and didn’t necessarily appear to be favoring one leg or the other, but I didn’t think then that it’d be the end of the story.

I’m not happy to be right.

Hockey players are fighters, especially with all the adrenaline pumping through their veins when there are roughly 20,000 people in the building watching your every move, so him staying in the game might not have been an indication of anything.

Fast forward a few days and he misses practice, now, I’m one to speculate, so I’ll give my two cents on the situation.

  1. Mike Babcock could be resting him to prevent serious injury, so it’s cautionary
  2. He’s actually injured and it might not (probably won’t be) serious, but sitting a practice out and a game out to reevaluate is necessary

If he plays tomorrow night against the Carolina Hurricanes, I’d trust that he’s 100% ready to go, but if there’s any doubt at all, he’ll sit and Josh Leivo will suit up.

That being said, let’s discuss what the forward lines will look if van Riemsdyk’s out.

Leivo Shuffle

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I’ve always been a big fan of Leivo, his character, personality and ability to play Babcock’s system effectively, the only problem is that he’s always the odd man out.

There’s been a lot of media attention surrounding the whole situation, but what intrigues me the most is a quote from Babcock on Leivo courtesy of Dave McCarthy.

And the context behind this is in regards to how Leivo has been handling sitting in the press box so far this season.

"Leivo’s been great with that, we’ve talked about it lots. We’ve had players here in the past that were disgruntled and then when they went somewhere else, they found out they weren’t NHL players. Just keep getting better every day, you’re getting paid to get better, you’re getting paid to train, you’re getting paid to be ready. When you get your chance – he’s getting a chance for sure – be ready and make sure no one can take you out. The beauty of the system is once you get in, if you play good enough, no one takes you out."

That’s a compelling quote about Leivo’s determination and readiness, I love it, anyways, let’s take a look at those lines.

Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – William Nylander

Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – Leo Komarov

Connor Brown – Tyler Bozak – Mitchell Marner

Matt Martin – Dominic Moore – Josh Leivo

Three things to note, Brown stays on Bozak’s line but slides over to the left spot to make room for Marner, who will be taking his usual spot in the lineup (minus the aforementioned van Riemsdyk) and the highly anticipated start for Leivo will see him on Moore’s right side on the fourth line.

It’s an interesting makeup, still, a terrifying fourth line and any line consisting of Brown and Marner should be scary.

Next: Money Reports

I’m really excited to see them play together.

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