Coming off what was arguably their worst loss of the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs were left looking for answers after being buried by the New York Islanders by a final score of 4-1 on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.
The chatter after the game was predictable. The defense wasn’t good. Netminder Sergei Bobrovsky was inconsistent. Forwards were caught standing still on occasion, and too many battles were lost in the corners. The team lacked muscle, with just 18 hits on the night, and giveaways were once again a factor, with 19 while posting just three takeaways.
Complicating matters was the loss of John Tavares, who was out of the lineup. Listed as “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury, there is no real timeline for his return. While Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller will do his best to fill the gap with roster players like Nick Paul and Colton Sissons at No. 2 centre, neither brings the skill set of Tavares.
To be fair, Sissons and Paul are band-aids, not solutions. While I am confident that Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka is working the phones to see what options might be available, the odds of him acquiring a competent second-line centre to replace Tavares are bleak.
Can the Maple Leafs call up someone from the AHL?
On the farm, the Toronto Marlies continue to impress, going 4-1-0 to start the season and sitting third in the North Division and ninth in league standings. Offensively, the Marlies sit eighth overall with 21 goals scored this season. Leading the way is centre Logan Shaw, who has two goals and eight assists for 10 points through five games, good for second overall in AHL scoring.
Originally drafted 76th overall by the Florida Panthers in the third round of the 2011 NHL Draft, Shaw has not seen NHL action since the 2021-22 season, when he played 17 games with the Ottawa Senators. Overall, he has 232 NHL games under his belt, scoring 16 goals and adding 23 assists for 39 career NHL points.
On paper, the 6-foot-4, 213-pound centre looks like a reasonable option to get a look at the NHL level. That said, he is currently on an AHL contract that runs through 2026-27, so he cannot simply be called up to the big club without first signing an NHL contract. He brings leadership (he’s the Marlies captain), AHL playoff experience (having led the Marlies to their Calder Cup championship last year) and a reputation for playing a gritty game, with good skating, defensive awareness and a willingness to block shots.
Despite what looks like a good fit, it is unlikely he gets a call-up, even with the team scrambling.
Another player who stands out with the Marlies is newcomer Brendan Brisson. Fresh off a hat trick in the Marlies’ 5-2 win against the Hamilton Hammers last Sunday, Brisson followed that performance with a goal (the overtime winner) and an assist against the Belleville Senators. With six goals and nine points through five games, it’s an impressive start for the former first-round draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights (29th overall in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft).
The question is, does his early-season AHL performance warrant a call-up to the Maple Leafs? The simple answer is no. If we dig a little deeper into Brisson’s game, we find that he led the AHL with a league-worst minus-32 last season. At 5-foot-11 and 179 pounds, the 24-year-old is a bit undersized and his physical game is nowhere to be found most nights. Another concern is his skating, which one scout ranked at 3.5/5.0, while his two goals and seven assists (nine points) in 27 career NHL games are underwhelming at best.
The upside? Brisson has an elite shot and can fill a role on the power play. His hat-trick goals included a beautiful bar-down snipe and a one-timer off the dot, so there is evidence he can beat netminders.
If he can continue his early-season success and show some improvement on the defensive side of the puck, a case could be made to give him a look on one of the big club’s lower lines. But he’s not going to be able to fill the void left by Tavares.
Newly acquired Aatu Raty is another option, but it is far too early for the organization to get a look at the former second round draft pick (52nd, overalll in 2021). Heading into the Marlies match against the Belleville Senators Sunday afternoon, Raty had just one game under his belt with the Marlies, which is hardly a good sample size to make the decison to bring him up to the big club.
More likely, Chayka and Hiller will be looking for either Sissons or Paul to step up and assume a regular role as the team’s second-line centre. Jack Roslovic is another option (he has played centre at the NHL level), but that would weaken Toronto’s top line, where he and Matthews have shown good chemistry.
William Nylander comes to mind, but he is more comfortable on the wing, and there is evidence that he’s not a great second-line centre option. Bo Groulx could get a shot, but he hasn’t really earned it, with zero points in six games, albeit largely on the Leafs’ fourth line, averaging 8:19 in ice time per night.
The verdict
There are no easy answers for Hiller. While he does have options, none stands out as a capable replacement for Tavares. With nobody really standing out as a viable option at the AHL level, chances are Hiller will need to employ a “next man up” approach when filling the 2C spot.
And let’s not get our hopes up. Finding a competent second-line centre via trade would be tough. Many NHL teams are on the lookout for a 2C, and most have much deeper trade capital with which to complete a deal. Chances are, help is not coming via trade, and with no word on Max Domi’s return (boy, could they use Domi right about now!) Hiller will just have to make do.
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