It looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs are making a change to the team’s first line.
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t had a terrible start, but it could be much worse if Ilya Samsonov wasn’t standing on his head every night. The netminder has been playing unbelievable in five starts and the team probably would have lost 8-1, not 3-1, on Monday night against Vegas if it wasn’t for his solid performance.
In seven games, the Leafs first line has been on the ice for four goals for and three against 5v5. Despite numbers that are similar, and in some cases better, than he was posting last year, Auston Matthews hasn’t scored, other than on a single tip-in.
Throughout seven games, the top-line of Michael Bunting, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews have combined for four goals and 16 points.
That’s close to a point-per-player, per-game, but most of it is on the power-play. In order to win games consistency, teams must win 5v5, and the results for the Leafs top line have been average, at best.
Hence the change.
Toronto Maple Leafs Switch Up First Line
The Leafs could have swapped out Marner for Nylander and went with a Matthews-Nylander/Tavares-Marner combination, but instead they decided to demote Bunting.
During practice on Wednesday, the team switched things up, as the first line now looks like this: Alex Kerfoot-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner
And you know what, I don’t hate it.
Kerfoot has one goal and two points in seven games, but he’s looked better than his stats show. He’s playing on the third line so he’s not getting the same amount of ice-time as Bunting, but he should be able to perform just as well on the top-line.
Personally, I’d rather see Nick Robertson jump up on the top-line and watch Bunting with Tavares and Nylander, but I’m okay with Kerfoot, for now.
Kerfoot has never really been given an opportunity to play with Marner and Matthews but I think it can work. He’s a shifty player and can retrieve the puck for M&M, but can also chip in offensively.
Who knows how long this combination will last but this is a huge opportunity for Kerfoot.
Kerfoot has been rumored in trades all year because it was likely he would lose his job on the left wing of the second line, and he makes more money than the Leafs have been willing to pay bottom-of-the-lineup players.
If, however, he can perform on the first-line, maybe he ends up staying all season. Bunting seized his opportunity last year when Nick Ritchie didn’t work on the top-line, so Kerfoot could do the same.
This may also just be a message to Bunting and a shake-up after a loss, but it could also be the start of a new line. It is most likely just an attempt to shake off the rust and help Matthews break out of his slump.
We’ll see what happens against San Jose on Thursday night, but keep an eye out for Kerfoot who will look to take advantage of an opportunity.