If the season started tomorrow, here's what the Leafs' re-vamped lines could look like
After the stress of free agency, the Toronto Maple Leafs' line-up for next season is certainly sparking debates among fans. As they are now above the cap, a trade is certainly coming, so the Leafs roster is not yet complete or set in stone by any means. The Leafs are currently very much still in flux and, only last night, signed Engvall for one year at $2.25 million.
However, if the season started tomorrow, what would the line up look like? As previously stated, the roster is not complete so this could change at any point but it's likely to look something like up front:
Bunting - Matthews - Marner
Robertson - Tavares - Nylander
Järnkrok - Kampf - Kerfoot
Engvall - Gaudette - Aube-Kubel
Alternatively, since the 3rd and 4th lines have so many versatile, multi-position forwards, the Leafs could opt for a different combination instead and look something like this:
Bunting - Matthews - Marner
Robertson - Tavares - Nylander
Kerfoot - Järnkrok - Aube-Kubel
Engvall - Kampf - Gaudette
The top line is unlikely to change after the success it found last season as arguably one of the best top lines in the NHL, and similarly it's probably fair to estimate we'll see Tavares and Nylander on the second line. After that though it is anyone's guess as to the exact line-up. Nick Robertson is quickly approaching the point of "can he play or can't he play?", so it would certainly be a good idea to give him the bopportunity to play in the top six to see whether or not they have something, but he could end up on the third line if the Leafs are steadfast on Kerfoot as a top-6 option. New addition Calle Järnkrok is likely not to dip below the middle six, but Nicholas Aube-Kubel and Adam Gaudette could potentially be on the third or fourth line, making it tricky to predict which formula Toronto will place their faith in.
Despite being an unfinished product, the Toronto Maple Leafs' forward line-up has great potential for the next season. There are probably about 3 or 4 different iterations they could go with, but for now, something like the options above are what we're projecting.
