Leafs roll out some new-look forward lines at practice on Wednesday
As the Leafs took to the ice today in Gravenhurst for a team practice in front of scores of fans, there were a number of notable changes among the forward groups that they had previously been running throughout training camp.
While the first group of Tyler Bertuzzi, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner remained the same, lines 2, 3 and 4 saw a significant overhaul. The team also ran drills with a 5th line and 2 additional extras. There's a lot to unpack here, so first, let's take a look at the lines:
Bertuzzi-Matthews-MarnerDomi-Tavares NylanderMcMann-Kampf-ReavesKnies-Minten-JarnkrokGregor-Holmberg-LaffertyClifford-Robertson
The William Nylander experiment at center was put on pause on Wednesday, at least temporarily, as he joined last year's primary linemate, John Tavares on the 2nd line. They were accented by Max Domi on the opposite flank. Obviously, with Nylander only having played 2 pre-season games, it's hard to gauge whether or not he can be an effective center. Those 2 games had shown us some glimmers of brilliance, but also some glaring inefficiencies, as they were outshot 8-2 by the Canadiens in Monday's game.
Bobby McMann made his triumphant return for the Leafs at camp on Wednesday, skating on a line with David Kampf and Ryan Reaves on what could very well be the team's 4th line to open the season. However, nothing is a guarantee, as PTO Noah Gregor has looked great there during the pre-season and may yet earn himself a contract, which may force McMann back down to the AHL to start the year.
Matthew Knies and Fraser Minten were reunited, this time with Calle Jarnkrok on their right wing. With the latest announcement from Sheldon Keefe suggesting that Minten could indeed make the Leafs out of camp, this could very well end up being the team's 3rd line to start the season.
A Gregor, Holmberg, Lafferty line just screams speed and intensity. The trio are all pretty defensively responsible and could form a stellar 2nd or 3rd PK unit in any combination, whether it be Laffery/Gregor, Gregor/Holmberg or Holmberg/Lafferty. It wouldn't shock me if these 3 are competing for 2 spots - though Holmberg is still waivers exempt and would have to beat out the other two pretty decisively to earn a spot at this point.
Nobody was shocked to see Clifford as the first extra, but many were probably at least moderately surprised to see Nick Robertson outside of the main forward groups, skating as an extra. Like Holmberg, Robertson is waivers exempt and will not need to clear waivers to be sent down.
With how much time Robertson has missed, it might make sense to allow him to get his feet wet and build up his confidence in the AHL and getting him rolling there before calling him up. Regardless of what happens, if he begins the season in the AHL, Robertson is almost certainly the Leafs' top call-up option in the event of an injury to someone on the NHL roster.
It will be interesting to see who the Leafs will dress for tomorrow night's pre-season game against the Red Wings. I'd imagine that a few of these guys will have one last crack at making the roster over the next 2 pre-season games before the final roster cuts are made, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if we see Minten on the opening night roster, Holmberg and Robertson sent down and the Nylander at center experiment coming to a close.
| POLL | ||
4 OCTOBRE | 378 ANSWERS Leafs roll out some new-look forward lines at practice on Wednesday Will Robertson and Holmberg begin their seasons in the AHL? | ||
| Yes, both will start in the AHL | 283 | 74.9 % |
| No, Robertson will stay with the Leafs | 50 | 13.2 % |
| No, Holmberg will stay with the Leafs | 28 | 7.4 % |
| No, they'll both start with the Leafs | 17 | 4.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
