Toronto Maple Leafs: Best Power Play This Season

The Toronto Maple Leafs could make the best power play the NHL has ever seen.

Last season the Toronto Maple Leafs were second in the NHL with a PP% of 25.0. This season they have the opportunity to make a power play that can dominate any team at even strength.

With the likes of Auston Matthews and John Tavares on their roster, the Leafs have one of the best offensive cores in the NHL. This will translate well when they are on the man advantage.

Toronto can go two ways with their power play. They can either make one unit (like the Pittsburgh Penguins) that has their best players on the ice for just about the full two minutes. By the way, Pittsburgh led the NHL with a PP% of 26.2 so they are clearly on to something. The other strategy is to make two equally dominating power plays. Separate Matthews and Tavares and have them running their own power plays.

Option One

Okay kiddies, close your eyes and imagine this. Auston Matthews. John Tavares. Mitch Marner. William Nylander. Morgan Rielly. Just sit there and think about it, a power play with those five players on the ice. So how would the lineup work? It is quite easy actually.

Matthews – Tavares – Nylander

Rielly – Marner

Considering how much the Leafs love to cycle on the PP, they could make it to Rielly and Marner on their opposite side so set up one timers. For now, I will keep every body on their strong sides.

Tavares and Matthews are both amazing tippers (no not in restaurants, though they could be). By tipper I mean standing in front of the net and tipping the puck to change the direction and speed it moves at. Those two are in a group of elite tippers. Having one of them (preferably Tavares) is lethal in itself.

Now what happens if the shot that Tavares is tipping is coming off of a shot by Matthews or off of a pass by Marner? It will most of the time find the back of the next. That is how good these players are. But Michael, if they get tired who would we put out?

Again, this is quite easy. You still have Nazem Kadri, Patrick Marleau, Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson and Jake Gardiner sitting on your bench. Kadri is the net front presence, you have the speed of Kapanen and Johnsson, the offensive smarts of Marleau and Gardiner. This lineup can take the other 30 seconds of the PP, while the top line takes the first minute and 30 seconds.

If the Leafs do this option they could easily have the best PP in the NHL.

Option Two

The Leafs have offensive depth that is unmatched in the NHL. They could put out two PPs that are very dominating.

Marleau – Matthews – Nylander

Gardiner – Kapanen

Kadri – Tavares – Johnsson

Rielly – Marner

With these two lines there is no top power play. Some games the Matthews line will excel while the Tavares line will excel other games. Now just imagine this, Matthews’ line is all over you, you are exhausted and then…Tavares’ line comes on.

If the line change is used at a perfect time, the Toronto Maple Leafs could use the fresh leagues of the other unit to really go hard on the tired defending team. That is what makes this team so lethal, they have the speed and skill to tire out the opponent and keep the puck away from them.

So which unit do I think the Toronto Maple Leafs will use? Both. I think they will use the second option more but will use the first option when they really have to get back into the game. This is going to be a fun season.