{"id":57606,"date":"2019-09-29T19:10:15","date_gmt":"2019-09-29T23:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=57606"},"modified":"2019-09-30T14:06:38","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T18:06:38","slug":"toronto-maple-leafs-top-two-candidates-to-fill-out-forward-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/09\/29\/toronto-maple-leafs-top-two-candidates-to-fill-out-forward-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Maple Leafs Top Two Candidates to Fill out Forward Group"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2019-20 NHL regular season is just days away and most rosters around the league are beginning to trim down to the final 23 players. For the Toronto Maple Leafs, most of the decisions left to make consist of depth players both on defence and on the wing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The injury<\/a> of Zach Hyman<\/a><\/strong> in last year’s playoffs will force him to sit out the first 15-20 games of this season. As a result, head coach Mike Babcock<\/strong> and company will have to try and fill the void up front for most of October and November. With Hyman on IR, here is how the Leafs top-nine forwards will likely shape up based on preseason outings:<\/span><\/p>\n

Kasperi Kapanen<\/a>– John Tavares<\/a> – Mitch Marner<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Andreas Johnsson<\/a>– Auston Matthews<\/a> – William Nylander<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ilya Mikheyev- Alexander Kerfoot<\/a> – Trevor Moore<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Assuming these nine skaters are a lock for the top three lines, that leaves Jason Spezza<\/a><\/strong> and Frederik Gauthier<\/a><\/strong> on the fourth line, with either one capable of playing centre. As a result, the rest of the Toronto Maple Leafs preseason is essentially an audition for the forwards vying for the 12th and 13th spots with the aforementioned 11 skaters all but guaranteed a spot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Luckily for the Leafs, there remains a strong crop of forwards at camp capable of earning an NHL roster spot. Amongst those, here are the two strongest candidates to fill out the team’s remaining forward spots:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Toronto Maple Leafs Fourth Line Frontrunners<\/span><\/h2>\n

Nic Petan<\/span><\/h3>\n

Resume<\/h4>\n

The safest bet within the group to make the opening night roster is former Winnipeg Jets<\/a> winger Nic Petan<\/a><\/strong>. Petan was acquired from the Jets<\/a> back in February in exchange for Par Lindholm<\/a><\/strong>. Obviously the organization saw him as part of the future as they signed him to a two-year extension on March 21st.<\/span><\/p>\n

What separates Petan from the pack is his playmaking ability. In 2017-18, he tallied 52 points in 52 games with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL. Prior to that, Petan put together three straight seasons of 74 or more assists playing in the WHL for the Portland Winterhawks. While he has struggled to find this production at the NHL level to date, at only 24-years-old the potential for a breakout season is still there (see Andreas Johnsson<\/a> in 2018-19.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Pros and Cons of Petan<\/h4>\n

The biggest knock on Petan early in his NHL career is his size and strength. Standing at only 5’9″, the Delta, B.C native is known more for his speed and skill than his physical prowess. In Gauthier and Spezza, Toronto has two physically strong players who lack any notable speed in their game. With this in mind, perhaps Petan is the perfect candidate to give the Leafs fourth line a different dynamic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last Monday night’s performance in Montreal was the ideal audition for Petan to crack the opening night roster. After being excluded from the NHL group’s session, he responded to the tune of two assists in a 3-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens<\/a>. Petan admitted post-game that his omission from the top group stung, but he chose to use the setback as motivation he told Leafs Nation Network’s, Paul Hendrick<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For Babcock, Petan’s performance at the Bell Centre was noteworthy for other reasons. Speaking post-game with TSN’s Mark Masters, the Leafs head coach highlighted the positives Petan brought beyond the scoresheet:<\/p>\n

\n

Nic Petan had two assists, but that's not what stood out to Mike Babcock <\/p>\n

"What you see & what I see might be different. He was physical, he was on the puck, he didn't turn the puck over. That's what matters for me."<\/p>\n

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) September 24, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n