It would be a mistake if the Toronto Maple Leafs use Connor Brown as trade bait at the trade deadline.
It’s no secret that Brown hasn’t been as productive with the Toronto Maple Leafs as he was in the OHL with the Erie Otters. While with Erie, he was awarded both the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy and the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy for being the OHL’s top scoring right winger and top scorer.
Yes, he was paired with super-star, Connor McDavid when he took home both the Mahon and Powers trophy. Last time I checked, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a super-star at close to the same skill level as McDavid in Auston Matthews.
Unfortunately, the Toronto Maple Leafs fail to utilize Brown properly 5v5. This season, he’s been rotating between the third and fourth line. Typically, the third and fourth lines for NHL teams are low scoring lines.
The only time that Brown plays on a high scoring line is when the Toronto Maple Leafs are on the power-play. Currently, Brown plays with Matthews and Patrick Marleau. Unfortunately, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ power-play unit hasn’t been as productive since January 1st. On January 1st, the PP% was at 22.1 and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ power-play was ranked 5th in the NHL. Since January 1st, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ PP% has fallen to 20.6, the 15th best in the league.
The Toronto Maple Leafs shouldn’t give up on Brown quite yet. They just need to make a few changes to the lineup to help Brown excel.
Connor Brown
Brown, a native of Etobicoke, Ontario played for the GTHL’s Toronto Marlboros as a kid. He played alongside Scott Laughton of the Philadelphia Flyers and Adam Pelech of the New York Islanders. After a successful tenure with the Marlboros, he was selected in the 13th round of the 2010 OHL Entry Draft by the Erie Otters.
He was a great asset with the Otters and the Toronto Maple Leafs took notice. The Leafs selected Brown in the 6th round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
In his 2013-14 campaign with the Otters, he was named captain and played on a line with McDavid. As mentioned earlier, he brought home several awards that season after being the top goal scorer in the OHL.
Stats With The Toronto Maple Leafs
In 2015-16, he finally cracked into the Leafs’ lineup. He played in 7 games for the Leafs and showed that he was still had top six forward skills. Brown grabbed six points in 7 games and proved to the Leafs that he needed a permanent role in the lineup.
Unfortunately, the past two seasons for Brown haven’t been great. He’s still produced adequate numbers, but isn’t finding the back of the net consistently as he once did. Last season, Brown played a full 82 games for the Leafs and tallied 20 goals, 16 assists, 6 PPP, 1 SHG and a S% of 14.4. He also finished last season with a fenwick for percentage of 48.6.
This season, his numbers have slipped to 12 goals, 9 assists, 1 PPP, 1 SHG and a S% of 15 in 57 games. His Fenwick for percentage has also decreased to 47.9%.
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It clearly is time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to make some adjustments on their 5v5 and power-play lines. This way, Brown doesn’t get sent out of town for the wrong reasons.
Biggest Issue for Brown
The biggest issue for Brown is that he is playing alongside Tyler Bozak.
Bozak has been struggling this year and isn’t the centreman that he once was. He’s still been productive in occasions, but he hasn’t been consistent as he once was. This season, Bozak has 8 goals and 19 assists.
Personally, I would suggest that Mike Babcock move Brown to the second line alongside Nazem Kadri, but that won’t happen. You can’t possibly switch Brown and Mitch Marner, especially after Marner’s five point night against the Ottawa Senators.
Unfortunately for Brown, he’ll most likely have to play with Bozak till July 1st. Brown should hold his head up high as perhaps the Toronto Maple Leafs make a run in free agency for a stronger offensive skill-set centre to play with him.
Top Power-Play Line Needs Re-Surgence
In terms of improving the power-play numbers and Brown’s number on the power-play, Babcock could look at moving James van Riemsdyk to the top power-play unit. While JVR plays on the right side on the second unit, he does play left wing for the Leafs on the third line.
Next: Time to Move Nylander (to Centre)
JVR has been lights out on the second power-play unit and has netted 15 PPP this season. Perhaps if the Leafs moved JVR to the top line, the PPP% will skyrocket and Brown will tally more PPP.
If the presence of JVR on the top power-play unit or a new third line centre doesn’t change much for Brown, then trade him.
statistics from hockey-reference.com and nhl.com