Young Leafs Forward Quickly Changing the Dynamic of the Bottom Six in Toronto

On Tuesday last week, as NHL teams were able to return to practice, the Leafs recalled the AHL's leading goal scorer, Alex Steeves, from the Toronto Marlies.

At the time he was recalled, Steeves had just tallied his 29th goal in 40 games and was third in AHL scoring with 46 points. The undrafted free agent signing had played 7 games over three previous seasons with the Leafs, failing to score -- and in four games earlier this season, he did not register a point.

Coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break, Steeves found himself in the lineup for both games over the weekend, skating on the fourth line with David Kampf and Steven Lorentz.

Steeves registered his first career NHL goal Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes and then collected an assist a few minutes later. While he didn't register a point in Sunday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Steeves has quickly changed the dynamic of the bottom-six for the Leafs, providing them with a reliable fourth-line winger who is capable of winning his minutes.

Throughout the season, the Leafs have swapped Ryan Reaves and Connor Dewar (for the most part) in and out on the fourth line without having much success. Reaves and Dewar have each been on the ice for just three 5-on-5 goals for the Leafs this season, but in the two games Steeves has played this weekend, the fourth line was on for the same amount, providing a much higher points per minute rating.

The sample size is small, but according to Natural Stat Trick, the Steeves-Kampf-Lorentz line has done well at 5-on-5.

At 5-on-5 against the Hurricanes, they outscored the opposition 1-0 while holding an expected goals for percentage of 59.3. On Sunday, the line was even better. Despite not scoring, they held an expected goals for percentage of 93.1 and outshot the opposition 5-1.

The trio has played under 14 minutes together, but in two games, they have been able to contribute offensively and allow Craig Berube to reduce the minutes of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner as they return from the 4 Nations Face-Off.

After a successful two games, Berube would be wise to give the line a few more games to see if they can continue to build consistency and chemistry together. If they are able to, it may change Brad Treliving's thinking as the trade deadline quickly creeps closer.