Kyle Dubas' plan for this season's Leafs is becoming more and more clear with every signing
The Toronto Maple Leafs have become synonymous with fast-paced, high-octane hockey in recent years. While rush offense/rush defense hockey is entertaining, the inability to play low-event hockey and lock down games has cost the Leafs dearly when it matters most; during the postseason.
Well, the Leafs appear to have had a very clear agenda this summer, locking up players who specialize in playing low-event, shutdown hockey - which could be paramount in taking the next step as a team and getting over that 1st round hump in the spring.
The problem is that secondary scoring was also a bit of an issue for the Leafs at times last year, especially in the Tampa Bay series. Coming into this season, the Leafs really haven't improved in that department. Exhibit A:
Now, nobody is expecting all 7 or 8 of a team's rotation of bottom six players to shoot the lights out and put up 50 points, but when you don't even have one guy (excluding a declining Wayne Simmonds) who has scored 40 points in their NHL careers, that can be a bit concerning - unless you're not trying to play that brand of hockey.
Low-event hockey can win championships. We've seen it. The Leafs have tried to be the team that outscores all of their problems. That formula didn't work. A roster that deploys two lines that are a legit threat to score every time they're on the ice and two lines who are a legit threat to shut down the opposition's offense every time they're on the ice is a different look for the Leafs - and it's just crazy enough to work.
Calle Jarnkrok, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Pierre Engvall, David Kampf and Zach Aston-Reese are all excellent defensive-minded players. They're also all excellent forecheckers who can make life miserable for the opposition. These guys don't need to shoot the lights out. They just need to limit the 'Grade A' scoring chances from the opposition and push the play up the ice to put the team's aces in a position to shoot the lights out, which we know the Leafs' top dogs, especially Auston Matthews, can do.
| POLL | ||
10 SEPTEMBRE | 420 ANSWERS Kyle Dubas' plan for this season's Leafs is becoming more and more clear with every signing Are the Leafs right to employ a "low-event hockey" strategy in the bottom six this season? | ||
| Yes | 332 | 79 % |
| No | 88 | 21 % |
| List of polls | ||
