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Toronto Maple Leafs: Projecting the 2020-2021 Forward Lines

By Rossy Pasternak

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 07: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his third period goal at 16:54 with Morgan Rielly #44, William Nylander #88, Auston Matthews #34, Zach Hyman #11 amd Mitchell Marner #16 against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 07, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 07: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his third period goal at 16:54 with Morgan Rielly #44, William Nylander #88, Auston Matthews #34, Zach Hyman #11 amd Mitchell Marner #16 against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 07, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 7: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs drops a puck to teammate Auston Matthews #34 for his 40th goal of the season against the Anaheim Ducks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 7, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 7: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs drops a puck to teammate Auston Matthews #34 for his 40th goal of the season against the Anaheim Ducks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 7, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Let’s call this 1A

While at first the top lines seem  obvious for the Leafs, there are a few combinations that Keefe can and likely will turn to throughout the season. The Leafs are spoiled with having two first-line quality centres in John Tavares and Auston Matthews, likely resulting in more of a 1A/1B situation than having a true first line.

Matthews gets the nod on line 1A, clearly separating himself from Tavares as the Leafs most dominant player last season, scoring 47 goals and adding 33 assists for 80 points – a career-high in goals and points – in just 70 games. (Stats via Hockey Reference)

Matthews did most of his damage with Mitchell Marner and Zach Hyman flanking him, which would make it seem as though they would be the obvious choice to be his wingers. However, John Tavares also thrived playing alongside the pair in his debut season with the Leafs in 2018-2019, but struggled without Hyman at the beginning of last season, and didn’t seem as dynamic once Marner was taken off his line.

Meanwhile, Matthews, Nylander and Hyman burst on to the scene together and have to show the chemistry still exists. Although Marner and Matthews clearly enjoy playing with each other, there are a multitude of options, including a Marner-Matthews-Tavares super line, which was employed occasionally last year.

Marner and Hyman probably get the nod here alongside Matthews to begin the season, but look for Keefe to mix and match often. After all, Matthews has done just fine with William Nylander and others on his wings as well.

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