Oliver Ekman-Larsson Expected to Take on Larger Role Than Expected with Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs may be gearing up for a big change involving Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
The Maple Leafs' power play during the playoffs was abysmal, and while it was better during the season, it wasn't nearly as good as it should have been.
One way the team sought to address this was signing puck-moving defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is a multi-time 20+ goal scorer from the blueline -- a legitimate shooting threat. It's no secret that the team needed a big shot from the blue line. Now, the new-look Leafs power play will also have an entirely new coach in Marc Savard coaching it.
Savard is replacing former assistant coach Guy Boucher and changes are certain. Despite a top unit of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly, that star-studded group scored only on 4.8 percent of their power plays in the playoffs. Yes, 4.8%. Pathetic and inexcusable given the talent they possess.
So what changes will Savard make? An easy one to try is removing Morgan Rielly and putting Oliver Ekman-Larsson (OEL) on the top unit, as The Athletic's Jonas Siegel mentioned in his recent article.
Doing so adds a big shot from the point and a goal-scoring threat in OEL. It also couldn't hurt to move John Tavares down to the second group and use the younger, larger Matthew Knies as a net-front presence on PP1.
The Maple Leafs have the offensive depth that allows for two very solid power play units on paper. Both units will have an experienced and talented puck moving defenseman and multiple star forwards -- an embarrassment of riches if used correctly.
If Savard can make these units less predictable and have quicker puck movement and more high-danger attempts, the Leafs' power play woes will finally be a thing of the past.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 19 | 1223 ANSWERS Oliver Ekman-Larsson Expected to Take on Larger Role Than Expected with Maple Leafs Who should be taken off of power play unit 1? | ||
| Morgan Rielly | 272 | 22.2 % |
| John Tavares | 452 | 37 % |
| William Nylander | 54 | 4.4 % |
| No one | 445 | 36.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
