Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Shake Up the Lineup

After the team’s embarrassing 7-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday, it’s time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to shake things up.

Yes, it is still early in the season, but a shake up is needed any time you lose by six goals.  The Toronto Maple Leafs simply cannot ice the same lineup, with the same lines, that they did on Saturday.

Out of Toronto’s  “Big Four,” William Nylander is leading the team with five points in six games. Team captain John Tavares rounds out the top five with three points in six games. After that, you have to scroll down the list a bit to find Mitch Marner with his one assist. At the bottom of the list is Auston Matthews, with zero points in three games.

There is not a whole lot that Sheldon Keefe and his coaching staff can do other than change up the lineup. Move some players around in the lineup and hope for better results. Sometimes players need a lineup change to find that spark that will ignite their output. It is time for Toronto to give this a try while the season is still young.

Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Lines

Anyone who has watched all six games so far can tell you that Nick Ritchie doesn’t belong on the top line. Marner and Matthews haven’t helped him out much, but regardless, that whole line needs a good shake-up.

A better fit for Matthews would be Michael Bunting on the left wing and Nylander on the right. Bunting plays a very similar style to Zach Hyman, whom Matthews benefitted from having on his line.  Getting Marner some low pressure ice-time wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world either.

Next up in the top six would be to move Alex Kerfoot up to second-line left-wing position beside Tavares and put Marner on the right side. Marner and Tavares had success together in the past, and playing together again could benefit both of them.

The third line would become David Kampf with Ritchie on his left and Ondrej Kase on his right. It could result in a good, hard-working checking line for Toronto. A line that becomes a pain in the ass to play against.

Finally, we have the fourth line of Pierre Engvall between Spezza and Simmonds, which is the only line that doesn’t need changing other than playing Michael Amadio from time to time.

Toronto Maple Leafs Defense Pairings

Toronto’s top defense pairing of Morgan Rielly and T.J. Brodie has been pretty good for the most part. Rielly is off to a good start with three assists in six games.

The same can not be said for the team’s second defense pairing of Justin Holl and Jake Muzzin. It is alarming how brutal this pair has been for Toronto this season.  The Leafs have three goals for while they are on the ice, and nine against (5v5).  The save percentage of Toronto goalies is in the low eighties with either player on the ice, so the raw numbers look worse than they maybe should be, but both players still need to be better.

On the third pairing, we have Travis Dermott and Rasmus Sandin. Sandin is off to a decent start with two assists ,  while Dermott has one assist. It would be nice to see these two get some more playing time while Holl and Muzzin struggle.

Something needs to be done with the dreadful second pairing before it’s too late. Either give the pairing less ice time or switch up the pairings until you find something that works better. Sheldon Keefe should also try to get Timothy Liljegren into a few more games while Holl is struggling.

I hope Sheldon Keefe and the Toronto Maple Leafs coaching staff can find a way to shake things up and get things back on track before it’s too late. The Muzzin and Holl line need to be split up and Ritchie needs to be removed from the top line. All we can do is hope that these changes happen soon and that Toronto starts winning games again.