This Is the Perfect Toronto Maple Leafs Playoffs Lineup
The Toronto Maple Leafs will face the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs, but there is still some uncertainty with the lineup.
The best attribute that this Toronto Maple Leafs team has right now is balance. Last season, the team struggled past its top-six but this year, there’s a logjam for the final few forward spots.
Whether you’ve been in the league for two days or two decades, that shouldn’t matter when the playoffs start. I’m not saying that a veteran presence is overvalued, but all I’m saying is that the best players need to play when the games start to matter.
Toronto has a number of veterans, but fortunately for them, they’ve been excelling at the right time. Joe Thornton went months without scoring but has finally been racking up points, while Jason Spezza is making his $700K contract look like a bargain.
Toronto Maple Leafs Perfect Playoff LIneup
So although it may seem like an easy project to construct the perfect lineup, it’s harder than it seems. Let’s start with the forwards.
Forwards:
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner
Nick Foligno – John Tavares – William Nylander
Ilya Mikheyev – Alex Kerfoot – Jason Spezza
Joe Thornton – Riley Nash – Wayne Simmonds
Scratches: Alex Galchenyuk, Pierre Engvall
The top-six of this lineup is deadly. Despite missing a few games, Nick Foligno has been a welcomed addition on the second-line and the Leafs should have no trouble scoring.
As you continue through the third and fourth line, Wayne Simmonds and Joe Thornton are the two biggest question-marks but they need to play. When the playoffs start, their presence will be noticed immediately. Simmonds will be able to use his body to trouble the opposition, while Jumbo will more than likely find that extra gear, to help his team win.
Although the Galchenyuk experiment was better than most thought, with Hyman and Foligno expected to be healthy in the playoffs, he loses his spot in the top-six and has to sit in the press box. The same thing applies with Engvall.
Engvall is a fine player, but Nash brings experience and reliability in the playoffs. He’s been a shutdown centre before and if he’s healthy, he needs to play.
Defense
Morgan Rielly – T.J. Brodie
Jake Muzzin – Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin – Zach Bogosian (*If Healthy*)
Scratches: Travis Dermott, Ben Hutton
Bogosian is more than likely going to miss some action during the playoffs, but in a perfect world, he’s in the lineup.
Also, sorry Dermott but it’s Sandin’s time to shine. Based on Sandin’s ability to quarterback the power-play, he should play over Dermott, despite his limited NHL experience. Over the past month, he’s shown that he’s a legit defenseman and deserves to play nightly.
Goaltending:
Freddie Andersen
If you told fans in January that Jack Campbell would start over a healthy Freddie Andersen, they’d be shocked, but you have to play the hot-hand.
Campbell has been almost perfect this year with a 17-2-2 record, while Andersen has struggled through injuries. It’s possible that Andersen plays this post-season, but if he does, it probably means the Leafs are on the verge of elimination.
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This is the best Toronto Maple Leafs roster in the past 20 years and they should do some serious damage in the playoffs. Game 1 starts on May 20, so buckle up for a long-ride of postseason hockey