3 Things the Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Do This Season
The Toronto Maple Leafs season is only hours away and the team scrimmage showed us how special this team really is.
I know it was only a team scrimmage, but the intensity was higher than most exhibition games, as the Toronto Maple Leafs got ready to start their journey towards a Stanley Cup championship.
Everything about the scrimmage was weird, but at the same time, things felt normal again. It also helped by having Joe Bowen on the call, who is Leafs royalty to me. He’s not typically on TV anymore, so it was great to see him in person during a live Leafs broadcast again.
Since it’s been this way for nine months now, the empty seats don’t bother me anymore. If you watched a Leafs game in the past, those same seats were always empty after the first and second period anyway, so I just pretend that everyone is stuck in Platinum Club for the entire game now.
With the fake crowd noise introduced to the broadcast, the game was actually less realistic than normal. If you ever attended a Leafs game at Scotiabank Arena before, it’s one of the most dead rinks in hockey. Once the Leafs start trailing, you can hear a pin drop in that place. There’s always that one drunken fan that starts a “Go Leafs Go” chant when the team is down 4-0 in the third period, so until they pump that into the crowd noise, it won’t ever be as realistic.
Like many other people, I wish I could be making my way down to the rink for opening night, but instead I’m just thankful to be able to watch it on TV. This Leafs team could be something special and we should all try to soak it in as much as possible. In a 56-game sprint, anything can happen.
Let’s take a look at three things the Toronto Maple Leafs need to do ahead of their opening night match against the Montreal Canadiens.
#3. Put Nick Robertson in the Starting Line-Up
I know that the Leafs promised Alexander Barabanov a spot and that he’s a veteran to professional hockey, but Nick Robertson is a special player.
He’s undersized, but his skill-set is going to make him an offensive threat for years to come. The Leafs have a ton of firepower already, but in my opinion, you can never have too much. Just look at this goal he scored on the powerplay. How can you stop this guy from playing every night?
https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1348095185285218305?s=20
Within the last 20 years, I can’t remember a rookie who’s ever shot the puck like this. Obviously, Auston Matthews comes to mind but it’s typically his snap-shot that’s so powerful, not his slap-shot. Bryan McCabe always had a great slap-shot from the point, but it wasn’t as powerful as Robertson’s.
I’ve watched Robertson’s goal about 100 times now and can’t get over how fast that puck went from his stick to the back of the net. Even if the puck hit Aaron Dell, I think the force would have pushed his entire body back into the net for a goal anyways.
Robertson is going to have a long NHL career and there’s a million reasons why he should wait his turn to play, but it’s tough to keep a player of that skill-set out of the line-up every night. I know he’s not going to play 56 games based off the forward depth on this team, but I hope he can find a way to play around 30-40.
#2. Give Mikko Lehtonen a Ton of Minutes
Mikko Lehtonen is currently slotted on the third defensive pair alongside Zach Bogosian. I know it’s a small sample size, but after one team scrimmage, Lehtonen showed why he was the KHL Defenseman of the Year last season.
The Leafs left-side of their defense is as talented as ever, so it makes sense as to why Lehtonen was slotted on the third-pairing to start the season. There’s no way that he’s going to get more minutes than Morgan Rielly or Jake Muzzin, as those two are the team’s best defensemen.
However, Lehtonen is a special case. Although he’s a left-handed shot, he’s comfortable playing on the right-side. I’m not saying that Lehtonen should immediately move up the line-up and take Justin Holl’s spot on the second-pairing, but I do think that when the game’s get tight, Sheldon Keefe should lean on Lehtonen a little more.
A top-four of Morgan Rielly-T.J. Brodie and Jake Muzzin-Justin Holl is nice, but in crunch time, a Jake Muzzin-Mikko Lehtonen duo could be even better. During the team scrimmage, he seemed poised with the puck and even scored a goal. Although the goal wasn’t a highlight-reel tally, it was still a smart shot to get the puck on net and hope for the best.
After watching one game, it’s easy to see why Lehtonen was so highly touted. Slotted on the second power-play, Lehtonen should continue to stay in that role for the rest of the season. It’s no fluke that Lehtonen scored 17 goals and 49 points in 60 KHL games last season, so the Leafs should continue to play him as often as possible. In my opinion, he’ll end up being the best signing of the off-season, once this year is over.
#1. Play Matthews-Marner Duo for 23 Minutes Per Night
As per usual, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were the best players on the ice Saturday night. Their skill-level is unbelievable and the duo have an ability to change a hockey game anytime they step on the ice.
Joe Thornton looked good on the line with Matthews and Marner, but we all know that ‘Jumbo’ is only going to be playing 15 minutes per night. However, that doesn’t mean that the Matthews-Marner duo shouldn’t be playing more than ever.
Last season, Marner was 67th in the NHL in ice-time, averaging 21:33 per night, while Matthews was 87th with 20:58 of ice-time. Among forwards however, Marner was sixth and Matthews was 12th.
Although their ice-time was very high compared to the rest of the league, I think Sheldon Keefe should unleash them even more and try to get them both in the top-five of ice-time among forwards. Both players are still so young that their bodies can handle the workload and are good enough defensively to play so often.
Individual hardware doesn’t matter as much as winning a Stanley Cup, but this should be a coming-out party for Matthews and Marner. There’s no reason that Matthews shouldn’t contend for the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and Hart Trophy, while Marner attempts to win the Art Ross Trophy.
Next. 5 Biggest Questions Surrounding the Leafs. dark
Last season was the first year that Matthews and Marner played a ton of minutes together and it proved to be Matthews’ best goal scoring year yet. The duo should continue to play a ton of minutes together and rival Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl as the best duo in the NHL.