In recent years, the Toronto Maple Leafs have mixed and matched the core four of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander. During the regular season, the team wins, but none of their best-laid plans have worked in the playoffs.
Different Head Coaches Tried Different Lineups, Not Much Worked
When Mike Babcock was head coach, he refused to play Matthews and Marner on the same line, except in the case of injuries. Instead, Nylander was placed with Matthews, and Marner was placed with Tavares. Then, Babcock tried to find a left-winger that could keep up.
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When Sheldon Keefe became the Maple Leafs head coach, for the most part, he knitted Matthews and Marner together at the hip. He also paired Nylander with Tavares for most of his tenure behind the bench. Keefe tried switching things up several times during the postseason, first giving Nylander his line. He then tried the same thing with Marner this past season. All to no avail. The result was still the same.
Other than the occasional stacking of the lines when the team was down a goal late in the game, the one thing Maple Leafs fans haven’t seen is a stacked line regularly. Could we see something along those lines under new head coach Craig Berube?
Berube Has Never Coached a Team With the Talent the Maple Leafs Can Ice
Berube has never coached a team with as much top-end talent as the Maple Leafs. The most offensively gifted player Berube had on the St. Louis Blues was Ryan O’Reilly, whose career-best offensive output was 28 goals and 77 points in 82 games in 2018-19. Those numbers pale compared to what Matthews, Marner, or Nylander put up in the recent past. Instead, they are more similar to the numbers Tavares regularly posts for the Maple Leafs.
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Interestingly, O’Reilly was the only St. Louis forward to play over 20 minutes a game in the regular season or playoffs under Berube. In four seasons, he used O’Reilly religiously for 21 minutes per game. That changed during the 2020 Playoffs when O’Reilly averaged 23 minutes per game.
Meanwhile, Matthews and Marner have averaged more than 21 minutes a game in the regular season and 23 minutes in the playoffs for the past five seasons. Nylander joined them in the 20-minute club this past season, averaging just under 20 minutes per game in the regular season. Then, during the postseason, his ice time jumped to almost 21 minutes per game.
Could Berube Stack a Line of Matthews, Marner, and Nylander?
All three Maple Leafs are 27 or 28 years old and in their prime. They could easily continue to handle 20 to 21 minutes per game. With those numbers in mind, it begs the question: Could Berube put together a first line of Marner, Matthews, and Nylander and give them 20 to 21 minutes of ice time together?
That would give 39 to 40 minutes per game divided among the other three lines for an average of 13 to 14 minutes per line. That time could be broken up differently, depending on how balanced the other three lines would be.
If Berube Stacked a Line, What Might the Other Lines Look Like?
If Berube were to put his top talent on one line, what would the other lines look like?
The second, third, and fourth lines could look something like this:
Matthew Knies – John Tavares – Calle Jarnkrok
Nick Robertson – Max Domi – Bobby McMann
Pontus Holmberg – David Kampf – Ryan Reaves.
This is just one possibility. If the Maple Leafs don’t come to terms with restricted free agent (RFA) Nick Robertson and Easton Cowan makes the lineup, Cowan could slide into Robertson’s spot. Bobby McMann and Calle Jarnkrok could swap spots. Max Domi could move up alongside Tavares on the wing, and Pontus Holmberg could move to center. The idea would be to assemble three lines that could hold their own defensively while providing some offence.
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This is all speculation, of course. Berube’s one advantage in coming to Toronto is that he has seen what has not worked. Loading up the number one line is different and has yet to be tried. Maybe it would work. He might even move Tavares to a wing, offering even another look. The point is that Berube can create a lineup as a fresh slate. The question is, will he do it?
[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.]
