The Toronto Maple Leafs will have a completely new look this year and that is going to make them much harder to play against, at least in some ways.
The Toronto Maple Leafs main adds this summer were Max Domi, Ryan Reaves, and John Klingberg. These players won’t make the them harder to play against, if anything, they’ll be easier to play against since these three aren’t even close to the grit added by O’Reilly, Acciari, Reaves, Bunting and Schenn.
Where the Leafs will be tougher to play against is up-front, on their top two lines because they will be adding not one, but two power-forwards to this year’s lineup. That is two more than they have had for years. (I guess you could classify Hyman as a power-forward, but I see him as more of a grinder than a power guy).
Matthew Knies made his debut last year, but he’s a near-lock to play this year in the top six, maybe even on a line with Matthews and Marner.
Tyler Bertuzzi is a power-forward coming of a very good playoffs and a very bad regular season. Him and Knies will give the Leafs a completely new look for their offense.
Knies and Bertuzzi Give the Toronto Maple Leafs a Whole New Look
While Zach Hyman and Michael Bunting did give the Leafs star performances on their top line’s left wing for the last several years, neither player is a true power-forward in the Keith Tkachuck/Brendan Shanahan mold.
The Leafs are hoping that Bertuzzi and Knies are. Both players are a big size upgrade on the Kerfoot/Bunting/Jarnkrok combo the Leafs were running with last year in their top six, and Knies is big compared to axillary winger the Leafs have used in recent years.
The Leafs have had a star-studded top-six for years that has been the secret to their success. However, that success hasn’t translated to the playoffs, and the team has never been what you’d call “hard to play against” at the top of their lineup.
Other than playing Luke Schenn on the top pairing, every time the Leafs have added toughness to their lineup, it’s been at the bottom. Ideally Knies and Bertuzzi should help with both of the aforementioned problems by bringing toughness and a power game to the top lines.
The Leafs will be much harder to defend in their top six with two power-forwards in the lineup. This could easily translate into career years for Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander who should all have some extra room to work.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a relatively weak blue-line and goalies are of course unpredictable. The top six however, if going to be a power-house.