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Who Will Earn the Left Wing Jobs in the Toronto Maple Leafs Top 6?

By Michael Da Ponte

TORONTO, ON - MAY 31: Auston Matthews #34 and Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs take to the ice to play against the Montreal Canadiens in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 31, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Canadiens defeated the Map[le Leafs 3-1 to win series 4 games to 3. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MAY 31: Auston Matthews #34 and Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs take to the ice to play against the Montreal Canadiens in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 31, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Canadiens defeated the Map[le Leafs 3-1 to win series 4 games to 3. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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Michael Bunting, Arizona Coyotes (Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports) /

Who Will Play LW in the Toronto Maple Leafs Top 6?

This may seem like the all important question for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, who can play on the left wing beside Matthews/Marner on the top line and Tavares/Nylander on the second wing.

The way I see it though, this has been a question going into the last several seasons, Zach Hyman leaving for Edmonton in free agency did not change that. In the beginning of last season, Hyman was slotted in as the third line LW and the question everyone was asking to start last season was also: who will play on the top LW slot?

Joe Thornton, Alex Galchenyuk, Alex Kerfoot, Ilya Mikheyev, Wayne Simmonds, just a few of the names the Toronto Maple Leafs tried to roll out on the top two lines to find chemistry with the top four forwards.

Despite the revolving door of wingers in the top 6, the Toronto Maple Leafs still finished the season as one of the top teams in the league. This season, if they can solidify that top six earlier on in the season, and lock down the lineup, the offense could reach even greater heights.

Kyle Dubas was busy this off-season, picking up multiple depth wingers, much like last season, to find a fit in the top six. Instead of paying Hyman $5.5-6 million they used that money to sign Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase, Michael Bunting and David Kampf and gave themselves much more flexibility in the process.

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