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Examining 4 Potential Toronto Maple Leafs Third-Line Combinations

By Jordan Maresky

TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 30: Toronto Maple Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe walks to a press conference before his first home game as head coach at the Scotiabank Arena on November 30, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Toronto Maple Leafs face the Buffalo Sabres. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 30: Toronto Maple Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe walks to a press conference before his first home game as head coach at the Scotiabank Arena on November 30, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Toronto Maple Leafs face the Buffalo Sabres. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – NOVEMBER 7: Ilya Mikheyev #65 of the Toronto Maple Leafs  (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Alex Kerfoot – Joe Thornton – Ilya Mikheyev

This trio of Kerfoot, Thornton, and Mikheyev, I believe, will give Keefe the best chance at creating the most versatile third line possible. The defensively sound Kerfoot in conjunction with the two-way skillset of Mikheyev will simultaneously allow this threesome to match up against the other team’s best line and also provide some offense while doing so.

At 41-years old, the best way to receive the full value Thornton can give you is to surround him with speedier wingers, which will allow the underrated skating abilities of both Kerfoot and Mikheyev to be on full display during the 2020-21 season.

Similarly, Kerfoot and Mikheyev are both quiet goal scorers. In his rookie season in 2017-18 with Avalanche, the B.C. native registered an extremely impressive 19 goals in 79 games, only playing 13:27 a night. (stats; hockey-reference), alongside Colin Wilson and J.T. Compher for most of the season. Pair him up with one of the best playmakers to ever play this game in ‘Jumbo’ Joe and the idea of Kerfoot potentially setting a new career-high across the board next year is certainly realistic.

Likewise, Mikheyev, at the time of his injury, was on pace for 17 goals, flanking the highly intelligent John Tavares. Thornton is built in a similar way to Tavares in that they do not rely on their speed to beat their opponents.

Instead, they are cerebral and use their smarts to outwit the opposition. It is very likely that should Mikheyev match up on one of the future hall-of-famer’s wings, he could shatter the goal pace he set out for himself in 2019-20.

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