Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Storylines After First Day of Training Camp

#1. Top-Six is Very Different from 2019-20 Season

Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander are obviously still in the top-six, but Sheldon Keefe announced a change that turned a few heads. Instead of Hyman and Mikheyev, Vesey and Thornton will be skating on the top two lines.

I’m a huge fan of this move for three reasons.

1. Joe Thornton’s vision will increase Matthews’ chances at winning the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy.
2. Jimmy Vesey has top-six talent and has never played with talent like Tavares or Nylander before. He’s bound for a 20-goal campaign.
3. Spreading out Mikheyev and Hyman to the third-line creates three great scoring lines, instead of two.

I’ve said this multiple times, but I think the duo of Tavares-Nylander and Matthews-Marner can elevate any other winger they play with. Thornton’s IQ will be perfect on the top-line, while Vesey’s offensive totals will increase tremendously playing with high-end talent like John Tavares and William Nylander, for the first time in his career.

The line of Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Hyman doesn’t need to score a combined 65 goals to be impactful, but instead will be more concerned about puck possession and defense. Instead of facing the top defensive pairing every night when he was on Matthews’ line, Hyman should be even more effective playing against inferior defensive opponents on the Leafs third-line.

Overall, the balance of this line-up looks very good with the addition of Thornton and Vesey into the top-six. Expect a huge season from Vesey if these lines stay the same way for the 56-game campaign.