Fraser Minten Draws In as Craig Berube Shuffles Entire Leafs' Lineup Versus Lightning
Craig Berube has shuffled his forward group and defensive pairings with Fraser Minten drawing in ahead of the Leafs' clash with the Tampa Bay Lighting on Monday night.
Once the Leafs finally had a healthy contingent of forwards in mid-December, they re-assigned Minten to the Toronto Marlies to allow the rookie to play big minutes in all situations to help his overall development.
Last week, however, Minten was recalled due to an injury to former captain John Tavares.
At the time, many expected Minten to immediately draw into the Leafs' lineup, but head coach Craig Berube decided it was best for the former second-round pick to get into a few practices before throwing him into the lineup.
With Tavares still out, Minten will return to the lineup on Monday as he slotted into the third-line center spot between Max Domi and Nicholas Robertson during the morning skate. In 11 games with the Leafs in his stint earlier this season, the 20-year-old registered 2 goals and 4 points.
Not only will Minten play the 3C role, but he was also a feature on the Leafs' second power-play unit with Rielly, Ekman-Larsson, Domi and Robertson.
Pontus Holmberg remained between Bobby McMann and William Nylander on the second line, while Connor Dewar will draw in for the still fightless Ryan Reaves on the fourth line.
On the back end, Berube made some significant changes. Morgan Rielly will pair up with Jake McCabe on Monday, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson will be skating next to Chris Tanev. Simon Benoit also draws back into the lineup and paired up with Conor Timmins, which means Philippe Myers will be a healthy scratch.
