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3 Things the Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Do This Season

By Stephen Nixon

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 07: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his third period goal at 16:54 with Morgan Rielly #44 and William Nylander #88 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 and William Nylander #88 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, ON – FEBRUARY 7: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs  . (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

#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.

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