The Leafs Should Try Nylander and/or Marner at Center
Another move that the Maple Leafs could make is officially experimenting with the likes of Nylander and Marner at center. Throughout the 2024-25 NHL season, whenever the Leafs had one of their top centers on the sidelines, they haven’t been successful in finding someone to step up in their place.
Toronto had tried with Max Domi, but he had been struggling immensely so far this year with just 3 goals and 14 assists for 17 points in 39 games played.
Rookie Fraser Minten looked good in his first few games with the club when he posted 2 goals and 4 points in his first five games of the season. However, his struggles both offensively and defensively that subsequently followed eventually showed that he needed some more seasoning. In the end, Minten landed back with the Toronto Marlies, until his recent callup with Tavares injury.
With other candidates such as Steven Lorentz, Connor Dewar, and Pontus Holmberg unsuitable for anything but the fourth line, giving either Nylander or Marner a run at the second-line center should seriously be considered. Especially when time and time again, the Leafs have already tried putting Nylander there, but just didn’t give him a long enough run at the role to see how well he could perform over a series of games.
As for Marner, Berube had previously considered moving him to center earlier in the season when the Leafs were down both Domi and Matthews. Marner was more than willing to take upon the role if needed at the time, even though it never came to fruition. But that opportunity might come again right now with Tavares out.
Given his athleticism and high hockey IQ, it wouldn’t be surprising if Marner can quickly adapt back into the centerman role, as he had previously played there way back in his early junior years. That way, the void would be filled internally without having to worry about where to find the right temporary replacement.