Examining 4 Potential Toronto Maple Leafs Third-Line Combinations

The bottom-six of the Toronto Maple Leafs forward group has undergone a massive overhaul this offseason.

In 2019-20, whenever possible (though because of injuries it rarely was) the Toronto Maple Leafs third and fourth lines looked as follows:

Andreas Johnsson – Alex Kerfoot – Kasperi Kapanen

Kyle Clifford – Pierre Engvall – Jason Spezza

Gone from that group are Johnsson, Kapanen, and Clifford. That is three out of six no longer on this roster. Throw in Pierre Engvall who does not have a clear path towards playing time, and we are potentially talking about four new faces taking up two-thirds of the bottom-six slots.

While the fourth line, which will be centred by Jason Spezza in 2020-21, will only be looking for about seven minutes a night and therefore, will not be a significant contributor to this team’s success, the third line will be tasked with key shifts and forced to take on various roles.

Sometimes Sheldon Keefe may look to the third line for some aggressive play and could transform the line into a “checking line”. Other times he may want some offense and could look for that line to add an offensive punch in an otherwise sluggish affair. After all, the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, proved just how essential a versatile third line could be to a team’s success.

Although Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, and Victor Hedman carried the team to their cup win, head coach Jon Cooper often looked to the trio of Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, and Blake Coleman to be a tone-setter most nights – something the Toronto Maple Leafs did not have the luxury of last season.

Coming into 2020-21, Keefe will have the same opportunity to create a similar line for himself and after a slew of offseason signings, he is not short on potential combinations.