Toronto Maple Leafs: Battle of Ontario Sets Up Pre-Season

The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to begin the Pre-Season this week.

Its the most wonderful time of the year. No, it’s not Christmas, but it mind as well be – the 2018-19 NHL preseason is upon us. The Toronto Maple Leafs will be lacing up on September 18 to face the bruised and battered Ottawa Senators. Now that we have Leafs hockey to look forward to, I will preview their preseason matchup in an attempt to keep you all satisfied until Tuesday.

Before we begin, here is Toronto’s initial 73-player training camp roster. Since Babcock is currently keeping us in the dark about official line combinations, this can help as a reference. Players on this roster who may not see regular season action are often used in preseason games.

First cuts have been made, so not all players listed above will be given a chance to play in the preseason/regular season. You can view the Leafs first batch of training camp cuts here.

How do the Toronto Maple Leafs and Senators Match Up?

A match up between the Leafs and Senators is lopsided in Toronto’s favour. With Ottawa now committed to a rebuild, the Leafs should have no problem slipping through the holes in the roster of their Ontario rivals.

Thomas Chabot and Cody Ceci will likely be the Senators top defence pairing. Going up against the Leafs top forward lines will be a tough task for Ottawa, especially with Erik Karlsson out of the picture.

Of course, some of Ottawa’s core is still intact. Unfortunately, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau out for at least six months, the Senators have a hole to fill in terms of a second line centre.

Toronto’s potential line combinations September 18/19 versus Ottawa

Marleau – Matthews – Nylander

Hyman – Tavares – Marner

Johnsson – Kadri – Kapanen

Ennis – Lindholm – Brown

Ottawa’s potential line combinations September 18/19 versus Toronto

Ryan – Duchene – Stone

Tkachuk – (TBD) – Dzingel

Boedker – Brown – White

Smith – Tierney – Gaborik

The above lines are likely to portray full-time regular season rosters, rather than modified preseason rosters. I will go through a few players who are likely to see preseason ice time below.

Tyler Ennis has been playing alongside Auston Matthews until William Nylander’s contract situation is resolved. I don’t expect that combination to take shape outside of training camp. Instead, I  inputted Nylander on the first line. The waiting game is long overdue, as we continue to hope that Nylander and Dubas agree on a price and term before the season begins.

Another player to watch, as has often been the case, is Josh Leivo. Mike Babcock moved him onto the wing beside Nazem Kadri and opposite Connor Brown in training camp. The preseason will give him a platform to make an impression before the season starts.

Kapanen, Johnsson and Lindholm found themselves on the fourth line in camp, a combination that is likely to be tested against Ottawa, Buffalo, Montreal and Detroit before October 3rd rolls around.

Let me know your thoughts!