The Toronto Maple Leafs had their first training camp practice today. The coaching staff has broken their training camp roster into three groups. In Day One’s training camp group structure, Group 1 and Group 2 appear to have a somewhat even split of talent. Group 3 was more of a developmental group, with players mixing in and out as needed.
The players most likely to be part of the opening day roster are in the top two groups. If we look over the forward lines and defensive pairings that consist of the players most likely to make the roster from those groups, we find the following (as reported by Hockey News’ David Alter).
Day One Line Combinations
Forward Lines Top Three Lines
| Tyler Bertuzzi | Auston Matthews | Mitch Marner |
| Matthew Knies | John Tavares | Sam Lafferty |
| Max Domi | William Nylander | Calle Jarnkrok |
Defense Pairings
| Morgan Rielly | TJ Brodie |
| Jake McCabe | John Klingberg |
| Mark Giordano | Timothy Liljegren |
Tyler Bertuzzi’s Opportunity
The rumor was that Tyler Bertuzzi would be getting the first chance to skate with star forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. That looks as if it is going to be the case. He has expressed excitement about this opportunity and emphasized that he won’t take it lightly.
Related: Maple Leafs Can Expect a Breakout From Bertuzzi This Season
The Maple Leafs signed Bertuzzi to a one-year, $5.5 million contract to be a hard-driving winger who can create space for his linemates and produce offensively. While he was injured much of last season, his performance with the Boston Bruins during the playoffs was strong. He tied with Brad Marchand for the team lead in points with 10, scoring five goals and adding five assists.
Interesting Lower Line Combinations
It’s interesting to see that Sam Lafferty was jumped up to the second line with John Tavares and Matthew Knies. If the lines remain like that, which doesn’t seem likely, would the Tavares, Knies, and Lafferty line be the second line? While moving Tavares to the third line might be seen as a huge demotion, it still might make more sense if the second line were William Nylander, Max Domi, and Calle Jarnkrok.
Might there be any connection between Nylander presently negotiating a new contract and the position he finds himself in as training camp opens? How happy would he be playing on the third line?
It could also be a situation where the Leafs could be creating a competition between the two lines with the idea there is a clear number one line with the best player at each position on that line, and then having a 2A and 2B second and third lines.
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The fourth-line center, as of day one of the training camp, was David Kampf. He was centering a line with Noah Gregor and Ryan Reaves, which could be the fourth-line opening day.
Notes About the Defense
As for defense, there are really no surprises there. The pairings are what most of us thought they would be.
Morgan Rielly and TJ Brodie are reunited as a top defensive pair to start the training camp. Conor Timmins was buried on the third pair of group B alongside William Lagesson. Is that an early indication that he could be headed for waivers and a possible demotion?
Defenseman Simon Benoit was absent from the practice due to back spasms. He is listed as day-to-day.
Notes from the Third Group
Professional tryout offer (PTO) candidate Noah Gregor was playing on a line with two players expected to make the lineup. However, recent unrestricted free agent (UFA) signing Dylan Gambrell was not. He was centering a line with Alex Steeves and Roni Hirvonen, which might be an indication that Gregor is ahead of Gambrell on the forward depth chart.
The Bottom Line
Of course, all of this happened on day one of training camp. The first day of the regular season is not until Oct. 11, twenty days away. A lot could happen, and a lot could change between now and then.
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The biggest issue seems to be balancing the second and the third line. Although there has been talk of putting Nylander at the center position, if ever there was a season when this doesn’t seem needed, it’s this season. With Domi coming in and Jarnkrok used to playing centre, it’d be an interesting move now. We’ll see how that goes as the training camp continues.
[Note: I want to thank long-time Maple Leafs fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post. Stan’s Facebook profile can be found here.]
