Jim Hiller reveals why John Tavares is taking on a surprising new role

Head coach Jim Hiller is switching up his lines for tomorrow's game against the Montreal Canadiens, making a surprising decision to put John Tavares on the wing alongside Nick Paul and William Nylander.

We knew this day would eventually come. At 36 years old, Tavares isn't getting any younger, and moving him to the wing could help take some of the defensive responsibility off his shoulders while allowing him to play a little more freely offensively.

"We think it might be easier for him to keep generating more offence from the wing and have Pauly do a little bit more of the work down low," said Hiller.

While moving Tavares to the wing at this stage of his career is probably the right decision, it also highlights a much bigger issue the Leafs have been kicking down the road: Nick Paul is now their second-line centre.

Tavares has never been the fastest skater, and his defensive game isn't necessarily what it once was. Getting a couple more productive years out of him by moving him to the wing makes sense. However, having Paul slot into the second-line centre role is far from an ideal solution for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations. No matter how you look at it, that's a significant hole in the lineup.

How long will Tavares stay on the wing?

For now, I'd be surprised if this wasn't just a short-term experiment until Marchenko returns from injury and the Leafs can get back to something closer to the lineup they had before both Tavares and Marchenko went down. However, this could also become a more permanent trend, both for the remainder of this season and potentially next year. Either way, it only reinforces the need for the Leafs to find a legitimate second-line centre.

The Leafs can probably afford to wait until the offseason to address that issue, especially with so many holes on the defensive side of the roster that need attention first. But if Hiller plans on giving Tavares more opportunities on the wing, Paul is going to have to elevate his game and prove he can handle the increased responsibility down the middle.

Could we potentially see Easton Cowan moved to centre? He's played the position before in junior, and perhaps there's an opportunity for him to develop into a longer-term solution. It's an interesting possibility, but that's a conversation for another day.

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