The Toronto Maple Leafs are now five games into the season, and it seems that the team is out of sync. Head coach Sheldon Keefe has had the lines in the blender every game, and still, nothing has truly worked. There have been moments in games where we see players work well together, but then the next line mashup shows otherwise.
With the Maple Leafs needing to collect points early in the season and their team seeming to be struggling to find chemistry, I figured it would be fun to look at a few line combinations that could bring the Maple Leafs success throughout the season. With that, let’s look at a few lineup changes that could potentially improve the team’s chemistry.
Lineup Change #1
Forward
Mitch Marner – Auston Matthews – Tyler Bertuzzi
Calle Jarnkrok – John Tavares – William Nylander
Max Domi – David Kampf – Matthew Knies
Noah Gregor – Pontus Holmberg – Ryan Reaves
Defence
Morgan Rielly – Timothy Liljegren
Jake McCabe – T.J. Brodie
Mark Giordano – John Klingberg
Goalies
Joseph Woll
Ilya Samsonov
This combination doesn’t change too much from what Keefe tried in the third period against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 21, with a lot of noticeable similarities. The offence stays the same for the most part, with only a few changes. The first change is putting Bertuzzi back with Marner and Matthews. The reason for this is simple: he signed with the Maple Leafs to play alongside the big boy, so let him. Although it hasn’t been pretty all the time, once Bertuzzi finds himself with this new club, he can be a difference-maker for that line. He has the heart of a lion and isn’t afraid to cause a disturbance if needed, so put him back with Marner and Matthews and let them work through their issues.
After that, the second line stays the same. Nylander and Tavares have been hot, with nine points in five games so far. It seems like their chemistry with one another is at an all-time high, so keep them together. Adding Jarnkrok to that line just adds some more speed and someone who can go to the dirty areas and dig for pucks. Moving on to the third line, this line was put together and essentially won them the game against the Lightning. Domi and Knies seem to have very good chemistry together, which is nice because Domi was struggling a lot in the first five games. Keeping this line together as long as possible is ideal because it could become the checking line or potentially even another scoring line to provide the club with secondary scoring. The fourth line stays the same: Gregor with Holmberg and Reaves is a good checking line that plays less than 10 minutes per night.
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As for the defence, the only change is Liljegren switching with Brodie. It has been working nicely for the Maple Leafs since Keefe put these pairings together; however, this change could help McCabe out a lot. He is the type of player who can be good defensively if he has a good defensive partner. Brodie can provide that for him, which can essentially make this pairing the Maple Leafs’ shutdown line on the back end. Rielly and Liljegren had experience playing together last season, and it felt that Liljegren was ready to take the next step. Unfortunately, he found himself on the outside looking in when it mattered (the playoffs), so he could be hungry for another chance on the top pairing. Giordano and Klingberg appear to work well together; Giordano is more of a shot-blocking, stay-at-home defenceman, and Klingberg likes to join the rush, which is why it has worked well.
The goalies can be changed based on whoever is playing better, and right now that is Woll. He is set to start against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
Lineup Change #2
Forward
Tyler Bertuzzi – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Max Domi
Calle Jarnkrok – David Kampf – Matthew Knies
Noah Gregor – Pontus Holmberg – Ryan Reaves
Defence
Morgan Rielly – John Klingberg
Jake McCabe – T.J. Brodie
Mark Giordano – Timothy Liljegren
Goalies
Joseph Woll
Ilya Samsonov
This combination has a few more changes to it, which can help bring new chemistry to the lineup. Firstly, we have Nylander up on the top line alongside Matthews and Bertuzzi. This look is mainly because of the second line; however, it could still find a lot of success. Nylander and Matthews already have really good chemistry together, so it helps the line. As for Bertuzzi, it is the same thing as the first lineup change above. He needs more time to become acclimated to his linemates and the team systems; he isn’t the type of player that you give up on early. As for the second line, this is more centred around the London Knights with Domi and Marner. They have been long-time friends and linemates before, so to spark Domi, it would be worth it to slot him on a line alongside Marner, who tends to be the glue guy on any line, and Tavares, the team captain, who can help Domi settle in on the line.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Maple Leafs’ 4-3 Overtime Win Over Lightning
The third line is similar to the one mentioned above; it has the potential to be a line that provides secondary scoring, which every NHL team needs to win the Stanley Cup. But it can also be a good checking and energy line. Knies and Jarnkrok are good puck battlers who have a ton of speed, and Kampf is arguably the best defensive forward on the team. Together, these three could be a good checking line to shut down the opponent’s top lines, allowing the Maple Leafs to get a better matchup with the top-six. As for the fourth line, again, it is a good energy line that can finish their checks and change the momentum of a game with a cycle in the offensive zone.
The blue line has a bit of a unique look to it. Rielly has Klingberg as his new partner, which could be one of the worst defence pairings of all time. However, it could also work out. Rielly has shown that he can be a good two-way defenceman who can be used in all situations. As for Klingberg, he is essentially a forward who plays on the blue line; he thinks offence first and struggles defensively. But the two together could be an offensive machine, leaving the shutdown roles on the backend for the other pairings. It may be a failed pairing that gets broken up after a shift or two, but it could also provide the Maple Leafs with a new look that they haven’t tried since they had Jake Gardiner, who struggled to play his off-side alongside Rielly. Klingberg is a right-hand shot who could be a very good pick-up for the Maple Leafs if he is used in the right role with the right partner—that partner may just be Rielly; nevertheless, it’s worth a try at least.
The second and third pairings have experience playing together. As mentioned above, Brodie and McCabe could be the new shutdown pairings for the club; they both have the ability to excel in that role. Giordano and Liljegren have been a pairing for the better part of last season and the start of this season. Although Giordano is up there in age, these two have proven that they can be reliable together. These two pairings would need to carry more of a defensive-focused mindset if Keefe did pair Reilly and Klingberg together. The goalies are based on performance; whoever is the hotter goalie at the time should get the crease. At this time, it is Woll’s net until Samsonov proves he can be the number-one goalie again.
Many in Leafs Nation have grown tired of the amount of line juggling that Keefe has done so far this season. We are only five games in, and it feels like the sky is falling in Toronto because new faces seem out of place in the lineup. Unfortunately, it is a results-driven business. If Keefe doesn’t coach a team that can win games, Maple Leafs general manager (GM), Brad Treliving, will find someone who will.
This means Keefe is going to try everything he can think of in terms of line combinations until players develop chemistry with one another. The hardest part is that you could argue that he hasn’t given the players enough time with each other to develop chemistry. Nevertheless, if he tries making the small tweaks to the lineup that were laid out above, it could buy him and the team some time and pressure from the media and ultimately improve their team in the long run.