5 Moves the Toronto Maple Leafs Management Should Make Now
Put Morgan Rielly Back on Powerplay 1
John Klingberg was signed by Brad Treliving to a $4.15M one-year contract after declining every year since his 2017-18 peak, including a very rough 2022-2023 season split between Anaheim and Minnesota.
Never a defensive stalwart, Klingberg’s offensive talents and capability running the powerplay were supposed to offset his defensive liabilities. The Leafs were taking a bet that a 31 year-old formerly high-end player could find his game, but it was always a longshot.
Through eight games this season, Klingberg has been as bad as advertised defensively, and has looked awkward anchoring the Toronto Maple Leafs top powerplay unit with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares.
Soft errant passes, misreading the play and an inability to find open shooting lanes from the point have plagued Klingberg from Day 1.
Meanwhile, Morgan Rielly has clearly been the best Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman with 2 goals and 7 points already, while Klingberg has yet to notch his first goal as a Maple Leaf. Yes, it’s still early in the season, and the Leafs power play is clicking along at a rate better than 32% (stats from quanthockey.com). But why stick with a lineup that could be even better?
Sheldon Keefe needs to maximize the output from a roster that clearly has some holes in it. Experimentation is fine to a point, but at the end of the season those points can make a big difference in the standings.
Move Matthew Knies Onto the Top Line
This one seems to be a no-brainer to everyone except Sheldon Keefe. Matthew Knies is one of the top 6 forwards on this roster, despite having played a very limited number of NHL games.
So why waste his abundant talents on the third line?
Although Knies and Max Domi have started to show a bit of chemistry, Knies would be a much better fit alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner than Calle Jarnkrok, who is currently filling that role. Jarnkrok hasn’t been terrible, as he is a hard working 2-way player with a bit of offensive ability, but the Matthews line hasn’t been were the Leafs need it to be ever since Jarnkrok joined it.
But Knies is already learning to use his size and strength to win puck battles along the boards, generate turnovers and use his awareness to find an open teammate.
Not to mention the fact that he has a hard, accurate shot and a motor that doesn’t quit. It’s obvious he’s going to be a special player, so why not see what he can do with an extended run on the top line?
The second line doesn’t really need any boost at this point, as William Nylander appears to be at the top of his game and John Tavares is also piling up the points.
Although Tyler Bertuzzi looks a bit lost out there (as he did with Matthews/Marner), Knies would have more of an impact replacing Jarnkrok than Bertuzzi.
The Toronto Maple Leafs top line benefitted greatly from having players such as Zach Hyman and Michael Bunting to support Matthews and Marner. Matthew Knies is similar to those players except that he has much superior offensive talent.
Give William Nylander What He Wants and Sign Him Now
This topic could be a separate article (and much has recently been written about it).
Whether it’s because Willy Styles is playing for a new contract or that he has matured or that he has magically found an extra high gear, the fact is that William Nylander has so far been the Toronto Maple Leafs best player this season.
Nylander has at least a point in every game so far, and is skating circles around everyone that tries to defend him.
No longer content with outside play, he is cutting around defensemen and driving to the net. He’s working hard along the boards to dig out pucks. He’s hustling back to help defend. I swear he’s even thrown a body check or two.
Pre-season rumours had the Nylander camp looking for a contract extension in the range of $10M per year.
The same rumours had Brad Treliving looking to make a deal in the $8.5-9.0M range. If Nylander continues to play like he has, there will be no shortage of suitors willing to throw at least $10M his way (if not more) next summer should the Toronto Maple Leafs not extend him before then.
So why wait? Say what you will about tying up too much salary cap in four forwards, but it would be lunacy to allow a player with Nylander’s talent to walk. He’s already said he likes it in Toronto and wants to stay.
If Treliving was gambling that Nylander might not prove this season that he’s worth $10M and hoping to save a million or two, he’s already lost that bet. There’s no longer any upside to the team in waiting to negotiate an extension, so get it done now.
Stop Starting David Kampf in Overtime
It was an interesting idea when Sheldon Keefe came up with this overtime strategy last season. The thinking is that if Kampf wins the opening faceoff, he immediately heads to the bench and Auston Matthews jumps on, with the team already possessing the puck.
If Kampf loses the draw, the Leafs have one of their better (supposedly) defensive centers on the ice to help neutralize the opposition.
The first problem with this plan is that Matthews wins more faceoffs than Kampf. This season (in a small sample size) neither has been particularly proficient, with Matthews winning 48.9% of his draws and Kampf coming in at only 41.7%. Last season, Matthews held a smaller edge, 52.4% versus 51.5% for Kampf.
Problem number two is that Auston Matthews has greatly improved his defensive play over the last couple of years, to the point that I would seriously question whether David Kampf has any edge at all over Matthews in that area.
The last and biggest problem with starting Kampf is that it ignores the fact that overtime is a game of quick transitions. The way to win is to take advantage of a change in possession and move the puck up ice quickly enough to create a 2-on-1 (while being agile enough to prevent the opposition from doing the same).
Having Kampf (or any defensive forward) on the ice at any point in OT kills the opportunity to move quickly enough onto offence to create quality scoring chances. So please….stop doing it.
Find Some Defensive Reinforcements Somewhere……Anywhere
The Toronto Maple Leafs started the season with a depleted blue line corps.
Many fans complained last season that the defence wasn’t good enough, but perhaps they didn’t know how good they had it.
Luke Schenn’s booming body checks and calming presence are sorely missed. Justin Holl (when he was on his game) was better than many gave him credit for. Rasmin Sandin had a lot of positives. Mark Giordano and TJ Brodie were a year younger than they are today.
Now the Leafs have Morgan Rielly, and a whole lot of questions marks. John Klingberg is struggling mightily. Mark Giordano is no longer able to handle significant minutes. TJ Brodie is in a gradual age-related decline. Jake McCabe is injured. Timothy Liljegren is injured. Connor Timmins is injured.
Starting now for your Toronto Maple Leafs is William Lagesson, who last appeared in the NHL in 2012-2022 with the Montreal Canadiens. Next up is Simon Benoit, a bottom pairing D who wasn’t good enough to stay after playing the full season last year with the not-so-mighty Anaheim Ducks. After that, the Toronto Marlies depth chart is made up of youngsters who either aren’t ready for prime time or are never destined to join the big club.
It’s time for Brad Treliving to scour the waiver wire, make a trade, or maybe sign some diamond in the rough from senior hockey.
dark. Next. The Leafs Top 10 Prospects
I don’t have the answer. I don’t get paid to have the answer. But Brad does. So please, do something quickly.