Sheldon Keefe reveals projected linemates for Sam Lafferty and Jake McCabe
Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty made the short trip from Chicago to Seattle last night and joined the Leafs at the Bruce Springsteen concert. Today, they joined their new team at practice where Sheldon Keefe shuffled the bottom-six and all three defensive pairings.
Prior to the Pierre Engvall trade, Zach Aston-Reese appeared to be the odd man out up front as Lafferty drew into ZAR's spot on the fourth line alongside Noel Acciari and Alexander Kerfoot. The other three lines were largely the same as they were from Sunday's game against Seattle with William Nylander remaining with Ryan O'Reilly and John Tavares.
On the back end, Keefe threw the defensive pairings into a blender and introduced a new shut-down pair immediately as T.J. Brodie was paired with McCabe. Morgan Rielly was paired with Justin Holl, though it is unclear whether Holl was acting as a placeholder for the newly-acquired Luke Schenn.
Mark Giordano reunited with Timothy Liljegren. That left Rasmus Sandin and Connor Timmins on the outside looking in but, of course, Sandin ended up being dealt to the Washington Capitals for offensive defenseman Erik Gustafsson and a 2023 1st round pick (BOS). At this point, it's unclear where Gustafsson will slot in.
Take these lines and pairings with a grain of salt, as the lines and pairings are likely to change when Schenn and Gustafsson draw in for the Leafs, perhaps as soon as tomorrow against the Oilers.
