The plan heading into Toronto Maple Leafs training camp is clear for players: Want a roster spot? Earn it.
“There are going to be a lot of people pushing for jobs,” Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said after adding more than enough pieces this offseason to fill out a 23-man roster. “(New Leafs head coach Craig Berube) and his coaching staff will figure out where everybody fits and who they fit with. We just try to give them as many options as we possibly can.”
As it stands, the Leafs are over the salary cap, so it feels fair to assume that a piece of the roster could be shipped out to get the Leafs cap compliant. And so there will be no shortage of intrigue surrounding roster movement and who grabs the few available jobs throughout training camp and heading into the Leafs’ season opener. Let’s look at what that lineup could look like when Toronto heads to Montreal on Oct. 9.
Centre
Auston Matthews is coming off arguably the best season of his career. Now the captain, will the added off-ice duties dip into his production? Doubtful. The generational talent will continue to take over the team in ways only he can.
After Matthews, there could be a notable change: It’s time to buy stock in William Nylander playing centre. Not only is it a position he’s interested in playing, but the move also balances the Leafs’ top six in a manner that’s long overdue. As a member of the team’s leadership group and with a long-term deal, why not bank on Nylander being all-in on this change?
Conversely, John Tavares handled the passing of the torch as captain as gracefully as possible. There’s no reason to think he won’t handle the transition to a reduced role on the third line just as well.
David Kampf’s play was exposed more than anyone would have liked last season. The 29-year-old will have to get back to his sturdy defensive ways on a line that looks likely to be a shutdown one.
Add it up and the Leafs look better down the middle, provided the Nylander experiment is given more runway to succeed than last season.
Left wing
With a full NHL season under his belt – and improved play when it mattered in the postseason – Matthew Knies should look more comfortable in a top six role. Scoring 20 goals and earning a healthy second NHL contract doesn’t seem out of the question. If it’s not Knies on the first line, it could be Max Domi. Yes, Domi could – and likely will at points throughout the season – move back to centre. Starting on the wing allows him to influence games with his playmaking, which the Leafs want.
Nick Robertson will have to do more than just fill the net to earn a regular role on his new one-year deal. But he’s mastered challenges before and the determined winger deserves the right to do it again. He’s a player worth betting on.
After signing Max Pacioretty to a PTO, Leafs management wants the 35-year-old to play a notable role this season. Can he live up to expectations following multiple Achilles tears over the last few seasons? Recent examples of the Leafs deploying aging vets haven’t worked out so well.
With no shortage of players competing for left wing jobs, the onus is on Easton Cowan to work his way into the lineup. Luckily for him, hard work is entrenched in his DNA. Cowan should lean into the “pest” he wants to become to earn a bottom-six role. A nine-game audition to start the season, even if that doesn’t see him in the opening night lineup but in the press box, feels like the way for the Leafs and their most prized prospect.
Connor Dewar’s $1.18-million extension is not an insignificant amount of money on the cap and suggests he’ll nab a roster spot. Dewar could thrive as a pesky fourth-liner. If Dewar doesn’t look like a fit out of the gates, he could start the season in the AHL while the Leafs look to move a contract out.
Right wing
Mitch Marner remains one of the NHL’s most talented wingers. The Leafs will hope his talent outshines the inevitable (and continuous) questions about his future in Toronto in the final season of his contract. Look for Marner to reunite with Matthews to ensure that happens.
Calle Jarnkrok’s role feels up in the air right now. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for the jack-of-all-trades winger, though. Where he starts the season probably won’t be where he ends it.
A few players feel built to play under Berube and Bobby McMann is one of them. The energetic and heavy winger could force his way into the top six early on.
Pontus Holmberg has the makings of an NHL regular but has yet to fully establish a role with the Leafs. More offence to go with his smart, diligent play would be a start. No one would be surprised if he ends up with one of the final 12 spots.
Left defence
Morgan Rielly remains one of the faces of the Leafs and is coming off a productive season. His underlying numbers were fine and there’s little reason to expect anything less than another productive and strong season, especially if Chris Tanev locks things down defensively when they’re both on the ice. Speaking of which, Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s offensive inclinations could help a Leafs blue line that scored a measly 24 goals last season, among the lowest in the league.
After his breakout season in Toronto last year, Simon Benoit will look to continue his ascent in a bottom-pair role.
Right defence
Tanev is the physical, shut-down right defenceman the Leafs have been looking to add for what feels like a lifetime. Even if they’re no spring chickens, the top pair of Tanev and Rielly feels like one of the more well-balanced top units in the league.
The left-shooting Jake McCabe enjoys hanging on the right side of the ice and might have to as well. Expect him to round out the top four to start the season.
With some contract stability and the confidence of the organization behind him, it feels like Timothy Liljegren could blossom into the role of a top-four defender he’s flirted with for years. At the very least, beating out Jani Hakanpaa for the final top six job as the season wears on, which Liljegren is entirely capable of, feels like a start.
Like at centre, the right side could look better than it has in some time in Toronto.
The rest
Treliving wants a heightened sense of competition and intensity in training camp. Adding more than enough bodies up front is part of that plan. Yes, preparing for possible injuries is part of what is at play here, and for good reason. But the additions could leave previous NHL mainstays on the outside looking in. Of the players listed above, Dewar, Robertson, Holmberg have different-sized question marks around them. As does Cowan.
After struggling out of the gates, there was a noticeable uptick in Ryan Reaves’ play mid-season. Let’s see how often Berube chooses to deploy him.
Steven Lorentz remains a wild card. The idea of bringing in a player with a championship pedigree certainly makes some sense. He’s the type of physical role player the Leafs coveted in years past. But they appear to be well-stocked enough in that department right now. At some point, there just won’t be enough space in the dressing room.
Conor Timmins continues to post decent underlying numbers but remains the type of player the Leafs will rely upon in case of injury. And speaking of injury, let’s see how Hakanpaa’s knee holds up through training camp.
Goaltender
One question – outside of the big one about what kind of results they’ll put up – surrounding the newly-formed duo of Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz is how close to a 50-50 split of the regular season games they’ll get to. The belief is that both will be given their fair share of starts, with the understanding that Woll could eventually grab the long-term reins. Woll is four years younger and has more potential to become a bonafide top 10 goaltender in the NHL.
But for now, there are still some concerns about whether Woll can stay healthy enough to become a true No. 1. And so Stolarz and Woll will share starts early on. There’s a very real world in which Woll earns more games played this season than through his previous three seasons.
If injuries do occur and a third goalie is necessitated, the easy choice feels like Matt Murray, back in Toronto on a one-year, $875,000 deal after two trying seasons. But don’t discount the likelihood that Denis Hildeby, all 6-foot-7 of him, gets his first taste of the NHL if he handles starting in the AHL well.
(Top photo of Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner: Julian Avram / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
