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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 Maple Leafs
TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 19: Alexander Kerfoot #15 of the Toronto Maple Leafs  . (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The Toronto Maple Leafs Third Line

With Dubas’ work this offseason, the bottom of the Leafs lineup  is incredibly deep.

Kerfoot is the incumbent at centre on the third line and may also challenge for time with Tavares on the wing if Joe Thornton takes on a larger-than-expected role. Kerfoot is the Leafs best defensive forward and at 5v5 he scored at the same per minute rate as John Tavares did last season.  He had an excellent, if underappreciated, season last year.

Kerfoot excels on speedy lines that generate opportunities off the rush and from an aggressive forecheck. Two wingers who fit that mold are new addition Joey Anderson (acquired in exchange for Andreas Johnsson), and Kerfoot’s winger in the play-in series vs. Columbus, Nick Robertson.

Robertson scored one goal in the first four games of the series before being scratched in favour of the aforementioned Johnsson, who was returning from injury. Despite only appearing on the scoresheet once, Robertson was relentless on the forecheck and caused major problems for Columbus defensemen not named Werenski or Jones – earning him the first shot on this line.

Anderson is an unknown who says that he wants to bring many of the same qualities as Zach Hyman – work ethic, making the simple play – and is even buying into the comparison. He lacks the size that Hyman has (Hyman is 2 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier), but that doesn’t deter him from making his living in the dirty areas. He’s an ideal fit for this line, but there are several players who will be fighting for ice time, and a condensed schedule means we will likely see many different combinations.

Don’t be surprised if you see these three together to start the season, although I’d expect there to be a short leash on Robertson and Anderson as the Leafs have tremendous depth up front, and both are exempt from waivers.

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