Maple Leafs Reporter Believes That a Single Lineup Change Could Be the Answer in Toronto
The Maple Leafs are off to a very mediocre 4-4-0 start, but one Leafs reporter believes that one single lineup change could solve all of the team's problems.
Through 8 games this season, the Leafs have shown glimpses of being the same old Leafs, despite a number of roster changes over the summer, as well as the introduction of a new coaching staff. Granted, it's early, but there are still some concerning trends come to the surface in Toronto.
Both William Nylander and Mitch Marner have had decently productive starts this season, sharing the team lead in points with 7 apiece, though Nylander has 5 goals to his credit, while Marner has just 1 goal across 8 games.
The top line in Toronto has uncharacteristically struggled to start the year, and as good as Matthew Knies has looked thus far, there's something about the trio of Knies, Matthews and Marner that just hasn't been clicking. According to Mike DiStefano of Locked On Leafs, there could be a very simple fix here, and one that shouldn't present a lengthy adjustment period at all.
DiStefano pointed out this week that William Nylander and Auston Matthews actually spent more minutes on the ice together in 2023-24 than Marner and Matthews did. He believes that the answer for the Leafs this season may be to shift Nylander up to play with Matthews and Knies, and shifting Marner down to play with John Tavares and Max Domi.
To me, these should have been the lines at the start of the season. I've been very headstrong on this since last season. Yes, Marner and Matthews have obvious chemistry, but if it's not clicking, it's not clicking and we've seen those 2 go through some dry spells in the past.
Moving Nylander up to Matthews' line gives the opposition something to think about because while Marner's default setting is always going to be to pass first, both Nylander and Matthews like to shoot the puck, which keeps goaltenders and defensemen guessing.
Also, we did see an all London Knights lineup in limited action last season, featuring Domi, Tavares and Marner, and from what I recall, they were actually quite productive together.
Thus far, the only major change that Craig Berube has made is shifting Oliver Ekman-Larsson up to play with Morgan Rielly and shifting Chris Tanev down to play with Jake McCabe in what could be an excellent shutdown pairing. Obviously, with things going as rocky as they are right now, the Leafs really have nothing to lose by trying the Marner and Nylander swap as well. It could be just the catalyst they're looking for to help turn things around in a hurry before the begin to dig themselves an early hole in the Atlantic Division.
