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Toronto Maple Leafs Lineup Projections for 2023-24

By Gordon Munro

May 4, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe during a post game press conference after game two of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
May 4, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe during a post game press conference after game two of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Morgan Rielly #44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers  . (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

Defence/Goaltending

The blueline and crease is a much less exciting exercise but there are still some interesting wrinkles.

If the Leafs opt to go with an 11-7 format, the defenders would likely be: Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Jake McCabe, John Klingberg, Mark Giordano, Timothy Liljegren, and Connor Timmins.

If they opt to go 12-6, the player who almost undoubtedly gets the axe is Timmins. Luckily, although he has a cap hit over $1 million, the entirety can be buried as it is only $1.1 million.

There is also the added risk of losing him for nothing as he will have to clear the waiver wire. In terms of asset management this move wouldn’t be the best but it might be a necessary evil.

He found success with the Leafs after he was acquired last season but at this point he is still the seventh best defender on the team. Also, with the Leafs cap situation, these are the tough decisions that need to be made as a consequence.

However if the Leafs decide that they cannot risk losing Timmins, let’s look at the blueline with an 11-7 composition.

Rielly and Brodie will most likely be the top-pair with McCabe and either Liljegren or Klingberg being the second duo.

After that, it is likely Giordano and Liljegren/Klingberg with Timmins being the substitute throughout the lineup. There could be adjustments and some variance but as of now, given the historical lineup, this seems like the likeliest makeup.

Between the pipes, there is even less uncertainty. The tandem will be Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll barring a natural disaster occurring. However, the prospect of Matt Murray getting healthy again does make things interesting. It would very much put the Leafs in a tight bind as they would far exceed the $83.5 million salary cap and Jake Muzzin’s LTIR relief would not be able to help.

At this point, there is no clear timeline given for Murray’s injury as he is currently listed as “indefinite”. This could mean six months, weeks, years, who knows. So, it is most likely that he will be out for the entirety of the Toronto Maple Leafs 2023-24 season. (All contract information from CapFriendly).

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Overall, there is a lot of variance with the forward group and much less for the defence and in net. Which, as things go, having certainty in net and on the backend is usually a good thing.

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