For several seasons now, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been known for their high-flying skill. Their offence has been led by all-stars Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander. Typically, in the NHL, teams like to put all their best players on the top line. And further down the lineup, the quality slowly decreases. For example, Atlantic Division rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, are projected to start their season with a top-heavy line. That includes Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, and Nikita Kucherov. However, with the Maple Leafs, it’s never been that way.
Maple Leafs Top-Heavy Line
Ever since the Leafs’ trio of Nylander, Matthews, and Marner entered the league, they have never been set to play on the same line. All three of them were rookies in the 2016-2017 season, and they finished first, fifth, and sixth in Calder Trophy voting. Although, despite being under two different coaches over a span of eight seasons, there has never been an honest experiment.
Neither Mike Babcock nor Sheldon Keefe put this line together in their respective tenures. While there would be moments when all three of them shared the ice for an odd shift, it’s never been a set line. Babcock was a little more skeptical of loading up the stars on one line as he was an old-school coach. Keefe, who is a lot younger and more open to new ideas, would put the trio out rarely, but once in a blue moon, you’d see them together when the Leafs were desperate for offence.
A Major Threat to Other Teams
It would be a sight to behold if head coach Craig Berube ever decided to go down this route. These three stars are all capable of reaching 100 points in the regular season, and they all might do it this coming season. One of the most important things for coaches when setting their line combinations is how the players complement each other. There has to be balance in offence and defence, as well as other attributes. Early on in their careers, you understand the doubt from Keefe and Babcock. However, it’s been years since then, and these players have matured tremendously.
In order to be a successful forward line, you need to provide offence. It’s safe to say that Matthews, Marner, and Nylander can provide that. However, to be a great line, you must be able to keep the puck out of your net and be responsible in the defensive zone. And specifically, Matthews and Marner, they are more than capable of playing a responsible 200-foot game. Not only are they great forwards defensively, but they are some of the best in the entire league.
In the 2022-23 season, Marner was a Selke Trophy finalist. Just one year later, also known as last season, Matthews became a Selke finalist. Many teams would love to have a player who is good enough to be a Selke finalist, well, the Maple Leafs have two. Both of their defensive excellence should be enough to let Nylander be free and break behind the opposition. With those three out there together, it would be nearly impossible for defences to contain them. There aren’t many teams in the league that would be able to stop three game-breakers at the same time, in the same shift. The Maple Leafs could use that to their advantage.
Why Might This Not Work?
It’s been revealed that it shouldn’t be an issue for this line to get the job done on both ends of the ice. In contrast, constructing this line to a constant would leave a gap in the rest of the team. While the stars might be producing for about a third of the game, you need your whole team rolling to win.
Throughout training camp, Nylander has been used as a second-line centre. A spot where he doesn’t have much experience in the NHL. Most recently, Nylander has slowly moved back to the wing in practice with John Tavares back as the ‘2C’. The point of this was to spread out the star power down the lineup and ultimately make the Leafs harder to play against. Although, it hasn’t worked out that way.
This is a great representation as to why this top-heavy line experiment may never be tried. The Leafs would lose some of their second-line scoring, moving Nylander up to the left wing with Matthews and Marner. The best possible combination after that is probably Matthew Knies, Tavares, and Nicholas Robertson. On paper, that’s not a bad second line, but it’s not the same if Nylander were there instead of one of those wingers.
Main Photo Credit: Nick Turchiaro – USA TODAY Sports
