Toronto Maple Leafs: Mitch Marner Should Play on Third Line

As crazy as this sounds, when forward Mitch Marner returns to the line-up, the Toronto Maple Leafs should start him on the third line.

This hasn’t been the best season for Toronto Maple Leafs star, Mitch Marner. Whether it’s been injuries or Covid, Marner is pacing at his lowest points per game total since his rookie season. In an 82-game campaign, he’s on pace for 19 goals and 66 points, which isn’t what we expect from him.

Instead, we’re used to the point-per-game player we’ve seen for the past three years and the guy who doesn’t score in the playoffs (sorry for the low blow).

Based on his contract and previous point-production, you’d think that top-six minutes should be guaranteed for him. However, just because you make “x amount” of dollars, doesn’t mean that’s where you should slot in the line-up.

Who cares if a $700K player is on the first line or a $10M player is on the fourth? The money all equals out the same in the end. You have to do what’s best for the team to be successful.

As a result, I have a crazy thing to announce:

Mitch Marner Should Play on the Toronto Maple Leafs Third Line

Here me out, this isn’t a permanent decision and I don’t think a former 90-point player should play 15 minutes per night. However, I do think his services would benefit the team tremendously if he was on the third line.

As it currently stands, the Leafs third line is: Ilya MIkheyev, David Kampf and Ondrej Kase.

It’s a great third line because it’s a defense-first trio that can shutdown the opposition’s best players, but they can also provide some depth scoring. However, since Marner has been injured, that line has been broken up, as Kase has been given the opportunity to play with Matthews.

And he’s looked awesome playing alongside Matthews.

Matthews spoke about how much fun he has playing with Kase because he brings a physical element but is also highly skilled. Also, as I’ve said 1,000 times, Matthews can hold a line with two “scrubs” on it. Michael Bunting and Ondrej Kase can ride his coattails to the top and Matthews can still score at an amazing rate without Marner on his wing.

"“He hounds pucks…He’s got a lot of speed. He’s an easy guy to play with. He makes plays. He works hard, and he’s really good in open space,” said Matthews (via: Luke Fox, sportsnet.ca)"

However, by moving Marner to the third line, it changes the dynamic of the team. The opposition now has to worry about a superstar on three lines (instead of two). The first line of Bunting, Matthews and Kase will still score at a great rate, while a Mikheyev, Kampf and Marner line will get a serious offensive boost by having Marner passing them the puck.

We already know that Marner is great defensively, as shown by his penalty-kill skills, so moving to the third-line wouldn’t hurt the defensive structure of that line. Instead, it would help the overall dynamic of the team and help create more scoring chances in the bottom-six.

As previously mentioned, Marner wouldn’t have to play the entire game on the third line. In big moments where the team is desperate for offense, Marner could slide back up to the first line, but it would be nice to see him consistently on the third line with Kampf and Mikheyev.

I know it’s a crazy thought and having one of the best wingers in the NHL play less minutes per night is a dumb idea, but in a team dynamic, it could really help balance the line-up and provide the depth scoring that Toronto needs.