One of the new Leafs additions should play alongside John Tavares, but it's not Denis Malgin
At 26 years-of-age and coming off of a Stanley Cup victory with the Avs, Nicolas Aube-Kubel signed a 1-year, $1M deal with the Leafs this summer. He was brought in to add much needed physicality and a strong defensive presence to the Leafs' bottom six. However, he could be a viable option to play alongside John Tavares and William Nylander.
Why you might ask? Well, aside from his speed, tenacity and wrecking ball style forecheck, his underlying numbers are actually quite good. As you can see below, he is extremely effective on the forecheck with a 93% recovery rate that has led to a 65% chance rate off of entries to the offensive zone. Nylander is already one of the best zone entry players in the league when carrying the puck, but adding a player with the retrieval rate of NAK to his line would allow Nylander and Tavares to think more offensively off of dump-ins and stay above the goal line while Aube-Kubel does the dirty work, so to speak. We all know that Nylander isn't exactly the biggest fan of going into corners, so Aube-Kubel could take on that roll and free Nylander up to do what he does best - score goals.
On top of being an excellent forechecker and a puck recovery virtuoso in the offensive zone, Aube-Kubel has a ridiculous 98% retrieval rate and 97% retrieval exit in the defensive zone. As mentioned, Nylander is excellent at zone entries carrying the puck, and having the defensively responsible Aube-Kubel get him the puck while in stride could lead to an abundance of rush chances for that line. Aube-Kubel prefers pass exits as he uses them 94% of the time when exiting the defensive zone, so as long as Nylander or Tavares are open, Aube-Kubel will have no problem retrieving the puck, getting it to them and then joining the rush as the trailing man.
Keefe may already have an idea of what he wants to do with the LW spot next to Tavares and Nylander, but he should certainly give Aube-Kubel a look during one of their remaining preseason games and see what potential the line would have. The good thing is that even if he doesn't start on the second line, Keefe isn't afraid to try different combinations, so he could see himself there sooner than later as long as he plays well enough within the role he's cast.
It's a lot like the Michael Bunting scenario from last season. Bunting began in a bottom six role and ascended up the lineup after the coaching staff began to sour on Nick Ritchie in a top six role. Once Bunting snatched that top LW spot, he never relinquished it. Perhaps Aube-Kubel can do the same for the JT line.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 27 | 143 ANSWERS One of the new Leafs additions should play alongside John Tavares, but it's not Denis Malgin Should the Leafs give Nicolas Aube-Kubel a look next to Tavares and Nylander? | ||
| Yes | 84 | 58.7 % |
| No | 37 | 25.9 % |
| He'll end up there one way or another | 22 | 15.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
