Toronto Maple Leafs Lineup Projections for 2023-24
Forwards
The top-six is mostly already set in stone with the duos of Auston Matthews/Mitch Marner and John Tavares/William Nylander occupying four of six spots.
After that there are a few players that we know could fill the remaining two spots like Calle Jarnkrok and Matthew Knies. The newly signed Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi could be good fits on those lines too.
On the other hand, Domi has the ability to play centre, I would assume he will mostly slot in as the third line centre with the ability to move up the lineup if need be. Tyler Bertuzzi on the other hand, is a proven top-six player and at $5.5 million, his price tag likely makes him a shoe-in for one of those two spots. Given all of these factors, here is how I see the top-six.
Bertuzzi-Matthews-Marner
Knies-Tavares-Nylander
This makes the top two lines have similar construction with a nice distribution of grit and elite-level skill. Bertuzzi and Knies can play a hard-nosed forechecker role. Tavares and Matthews can be primary shooters while Marner and Nylander are premier playmakers.
In the bottom-six it is dependent on whether the Leafs construct their roster with a 12-6 or 11-7 combination. However, there are roughly 10 players who can fill the remaining five or six spots. Aside from the aforementioned Domi and Jarnkrok there are: Sam Lafferty, David Kampf, Ryan Reaves, Bobby McMann, Alex Steeves, Nick Robertson, Dylan Gambrell, and Pontus Holmberg. To varying degrees, all of these players have a shot at making the opening night lineup.
The most likely players are: Lafferty, Jarnkrok, Domi, Kampf, and likely Reaves. If the Leafs choose to go 11-7, these are the remaining five players I would assume that they go with. A possible composition of them is
Jarnkrok-Domi-Lafferty
(Blank)-Kampf-Reaves
It is tough to speculate beyond this point but if they go 12-6, I would assume Holmberg occupies a spot on the fourth line.
As well, there is a possibility that the Leafs would prefer Holmberg or Lafferty play fourth line centre with Kampf playing third line centre and Domi shifting to the wing.
As I said, at this point it’s tough to really speculate but I also wouldn’t be surprised if Robertson makes the team and I would assume he would take a spot on the third line over Lafferty. His shooting ability could be an asset for secondary scoring and in tandem of Domi’s playmaking ability, it could be a lethal weapon.