Toronto Maple Leafs: Johnsson Needs to Stay in the Lineup

The Toronto Maple Leafs face an important decision regarding Andreas Johnsson as Leo Komarov looks ready to return from a lower-body injury.

According to Mike Babcock, his decision seems to have already been made. When asked about the situation Babcock had this to say:

"“I can tell you Leo is going in for sure – we need the heavy body, the penalty killer; he’s a man. But that’s just the way it is.” He also went on to say that Johnsson has been very good during his time with the Leafs.”"

After looking at Babcock’s quote, there is no denying Komarov’s ability to play physical and bring a nasty edge to the Leafs lineup, something they lack in.. He has always been one of Babcock’s favourite players, leading to a lot of criticism from the fan base throughout the year. Furthermore, Komarov’s contract is expiring at the end of this year and many think this is Uncle Leo’s last season with the Leafs. There are many NHL-ready wingers in the system including Andreas Johnsson, who has been excellent in the AHL and in a small NHL stint.

In the following article I will be looking at the major aspects of both Andreas Johnsson and Leo Komarov’s games in order to prove why scratching Johnsson for Komorov is not the right move.

Power Play

The powerplay unit of Matthews, Nylander, Marleau, Brown and Rielly has been underwhelming this season. Komarov has also been included in the mix as well, but has not changed the success of the unit as a hole. They have looked predictable and lack fluidity between positions. Having Andreas Johnsson in the “hole” position of the powerplay gives this unit a lot more creativity and another goal scoring threat. Andreas Johnsson’s shot has been dangerous for the Marlies this year, allowing him to sport a solid eight powerplay goals.

The Marner unit has been one of the best in the league this season but if the Leafs want to eliminate both the Bruins and the Lightning this offseason they might need both powerplay lines to be effective.

Andreas Johnsson might be their key to success to do so.

Penalty Killing

Babcock consistently talks about Komarov’s penalty killing ability and how the Leafs depend on him in this department. Before last nights game, the Leafs PK killed 11 out of 12 penalties without Komarov in the lineup.

Those 12 penalties included six against Nashville. During that span, the top penalty killing forwards in TOI were Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, Kasperi Kapanen and Tomas Plekanec. Last night, without Plekanec, they allowed two powerplay goals on three attempts against the Islanders.

The additions of Plekanec and Kapanen to this team have made a huge difference for the PK.

Mike Babcock clearly has trusted both Brown and Hyman on the PK in the past and has been quoted to praise Tomas Plekanec on his penalty kill ability. In addition, Babcock called Kapanen an “elite penalty killer”.

There is no doubt that having Komarov in the lineup would benefit the penalty kill but this article is about weighing the pros and cons. The Leafs have four adequate penalty killers who are producing strong results at the moment.

Is Komarov’s addition to the PK going to make up for the loss of Johnsson in other areas?

Leo Komarov

One of the biggest issues with Leo Komarov this year has been his offensive output, especially at even strength. This has not been too concerning to Leafs management as Komarov’s primary job isn’t to score goals.

What is alarming is Komarov’s dropoff on the defensive side of the puck.

Stating that Komarov is the Leafs best forward defensively simply has not been true this season. That holds even less weight when you consider the additions of Kasperi Kapanen and Tomas Plekanec. Over the past two years the amount of shot attempts that occurs when Komarov is on the ice has steadily increased.

This season he has allowed 10 more shot attempts per 60 minutes than last year and almost 20 more than he did two seasons ago. There have been times when Komarov has been out of position and simply does not have the speed to recover, especially when the Leafs have played top competition.

Andreas Johnsson

Since being put together, the line of Kasperi Kapanen, Tomas Plekanec, and Andreas Johnsson has been putting on a show. They have been providing everything that Babcock asks from his fourth line; a unit that can take on a load of defensive zone starts, match up against the other teams’ top lines but can still drive possession and chip in offensively.

Furthermore, Johnsson and Kapanen have not lost any chemistry they built during their time with the Marlies. Johnsson has also been able to keep up with Kapanen’s speed and is a perfect compliment to Kapanen’s superb playmaking skills.

In eight NHL games, Johnsson has been deployed with 66.7% defensive zone starts while sporting a 59.3 CF%. Although this is a small sample, this is impressive considering these are Andreas Johnsson’s first seven games in the NHL suggesting that he is only going to get better.

This is also the first couple of games the three players are playing together as a line. In addition, Mike Babcock has been able to play this fourth line against the other teams’ top players if needed, allowing the rest of the Leafs forwards to feast on inferior opposition.

Johnsson’s primary scoring numbers might look a little underwhelming but he has created a number of chances at even strength. His PDO of 89.8 is very low and is bound to rise as he plays more games.

Unfortunately, if Babcock dresses Komarov, Johnsson might be scratched before he is able to reap the benefits of better luck.

Conclusion

If the sole reason for dressing Komarov is that the Leafs need his physical presence. Then I would say that it’s a fair reason but using his defensive and penalty killing ability doesn’t justify the decision anymore. Johnsson has shown that he is an NHL player and gives the fourth line another puck carrier which has lead to more controlled zone exits and zone entries. Dressing Komarov takes away the major aspects of what is giving this line success and turns them more into a stereotypical fourth line; one that dumps the puck in and is stuck in their own end for extended periods of time. Johnsson, Plekanec and Kapanen is the best fourth line the Leafs have had in a long time and breaking them apart will not be beneficial for the playoffs.

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