On an almost daily basis, I have been nearly begging the Toronto Maple Leafs to play Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander on separate lines.
Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs finally did it - they split them up and made three lines that each had their own franchise player.
If the Leafs have tried this so far this year, they haven't stuck with it for long enough for it to count. Now, I'm writing this on Saturday afternoon, hours ahead of the game. So I don't know how it worked out, but I don't think it should matter - win or lose, the Leafs need to stick with this lineup for a while.
I think that given enough time, it's going to really pay off.
The Toronto Maple Leafs need to give their new-look lineup a LONG look
The logic behind the moves is that Franchise Players make everyone around them better, so when you split them up you can get upgrades on six other players throughout your lineup.
Additionally, Marner is so creative and he is a Hart Trophy worthy player in his own right, but often he defers to Matthews and I think he's so much better on his own line.
And there is the Max Domi factor. Other than that awesome goal, hit, fight combo from the other night, the only times I've liked having Domi on the Leafs have been when he was playing on the wing with Auston Matthews, which is something else I've been begging the Leafs to try all season long, and which they've only done once or twice so far.
Finally, having William Nylander on the third line might look crazy, but it's the best thing about this entire set-up. Nylander is one of the league's best goal scorers and he's a Franchise Player along with Marner and Matthews. He will make Scott Laughton , who has gotten off to a brutal start, and Calle Jarnkrok into a great line. By constantly having to defend against a Franchise Player, this makes it so much harder for other teams to defend against the Leafs.
And then there is the piece-of-resistance, the pièce de résistance if you will, and that is the fourth line. First, Coach Berube has bounced my least favorite player from the lineup and rested David Kampf. Good riddance to him. Holmberg is an inspired choice and pairing him with Robertson and Lorentz gives the Leafs a nearly magical fourth line that can also score.
I love this lineup, if the Leafs let me set the lines, this is what I'd do with one exception: I'd have Alex Steeves in the lineup over Steve Lorentz. Otherwise, great job Berube! Just stick it out for a while.