Toronto Maple Leafs: Ideal Lineup Once William Nylander Returns

Forwards

Kasperi Kapanen – Auston Matthews – William Nylander

Zach Hyman – John Tavares – Mitch Marner

Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown

Josh Leivo/Tyler Ennis – Par Lindholm – Andreas Johnsson

To begin, I think the Tavares line has easily been the Leafs’ best line since the start of the season. The line as a whole has been dominant at puck possession, shots, scoring chances, and goals scored as per Natural Stat Trick. Keep this line together going forward, it’s been exactly as advertised.

I wrote recently on why Kapanen should remain on the top line once Nylander returns, and that point still remains true. The combination of the strong early showing he’s had alongside Matthews combined with his better offensive touch compared to Hyman makes Kapanen a player worth considering on the line. If the chemistry improves, that line can be deadly.

With Kapanen on the top line, that means Marleau gets “relegated” to the third line with Kadri. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though, since the early returns have shown that Kadri and his linemates have struggled offensively. Given that Kadri and Marleau enjoyed success offensively a year ago, perhaps reuniting the pair can help spark some more secondary scoring. It’s also increasingly obvious that Marleau can no longer handle a toait

As for the fourth line, Lindholm has been getting better as of late (especially on offense) and should be the 4th line centre the Leafs have been lacking. Leivo and Johnsson have both proven to be able to handle NHL minutes so leave them in. Ennis can be an extra and that leaves Frederik Gauthier as the odd man out.