Auston Matthews injury exposes the Toronto Maple Leafs depth problem at centre
The Toronto Maple Leafs centre depth has been exposed.
The Toronto Maple Leafs may or may not have beaten the Boston Bruins last night, but regardless of the outcome, they have a huge problem.
Auston Matthews being injured is a big enough problem for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and replacing him is impossible, but the team's depth has been exposed in a big way.
Before Matthews injury, the Leafs still had problems, but a lot of problems can be ignored when you have the best 1-2 combo at centre-ice in the NHL (or something reasonably close to it).
However, when you find yourself dressing Max Domi as your 1C, you know you have a problem with depth on your roster.
Auston Matthews injury exposes the Toronto Maple Leafs depth problem at centre
It's possible, even likely, that Domi had a great game last night because Mitch Marner always does better when he's the best player on his line.
Regardless, the Leafs have a long-term problem on their hands.
Assuming Matthews is healthy, they have one of the two best 1C's in the NHL. Tavares is a top 5 2C and so the Leafs are fine as far as that goes. But the bottom-six is atrocious and there is no one to replace Matthews or Tavares if one or the other goes down long-term.
A healthy Leafs lineup currently plays Max Domi at 3C and David Kampf at 4C. Because a Domi line needs so much sheltering to win it's minutes, and because the new coach doesn't seem to trust Kampf at all, the Leafs essentially have the same problem they had last year: they have to give tough minutes to their stars, they don't have a shut-down line, and depth scoring is an issue.
With Domi-Tavares-Holmberg-Kampf dressing with Matthews out, the Leafs are exposed for having one of the thinnest groups of centres in the entire league.
Having to use Domi at 1C is a joke, and hopefully spurs the management into action, because no team can win a Stanley Cup with this level of centre-ice depth.
On the bright side, without being able to lean on Matthews on the PK and for defensive zone draws, perhaps someone will earn Berube's trust and when Auston Matthews is healthy again, he won't have to play such grueling minutes.
manual
It is likely smart to let Matthews take as much time as he needs to heal, but if the Leafs don't find a way to plug the holes on their roster, it won't matter if he's healthy or not - you need more than 2 centres to win the Stanley Cup.