We are just over halfway through the preseason, just eight days until the beginning of the regular season. Aside from the first two games, the Toronto Maple Leafs have looked in top form. Many of the regulars appear to be in midseason mode, while the fringe players have done a lot to prove their worth and make strong cases for the opening night roster. Coach Mike Babcock stated that no changes will be made until after the final preseason game, which has only helped fuel speculation of how the roster will look on October 4th. While we’ve had a few small hints of how it could look, including last night’s largely-NHL roster against the Canadiens, Leafs Nation has been left to wonder what the Blue and White will inevitably look like.
Here are my tidbits on what I’ve seen so far; things I’ve both liked and disliked.
– Auston Matthews is not human.
As if we didn’t know this already?
Matthews has been in peak form all preseason long, shining even during the rotten first Senators games. He and William Nylander have been making other teams look foolish, dancing around the offensive zone and taking shots at will. Every time I see one of them jet into the zone, I just get all tingly and giddy inside.
– Keep Patrick Marleau with Kadri and Komarov
At the start of the preseason, I was a little annoyed about Patrick Marleau’s assumed position within the organization. Like many, I assumed he’d play with Matthews and Nylander. Then after it was suggested he take Leo Komarov’s position alongside Nazem Kadri and Connor Brown, I was good. That made sense; Komarov’s style is befitting of a fourth line role, plus given his skill he’d see some quality matchups.
Then Connor Brown got pushed to the fourth line in favour of Komarov.
I was quickly back to annoyed. Connor Brown may be able to play up and down the lineup, but I didn’t imagine him playing that far down. He should be playing with more skilled linemates than Matt Martin!
Once I saw Marleau-Kadri-Komarov though, my mind was immediately set at ease. The trio have played excellent together and Marleau looks right at ease with the longtime Leafs. They played strong on the puck, generated scoring chances, and Marleau even potted a few. I was extremely impressed by Komarov’s play on that line, as he fulfilled Babcock’s “grinder digs the puck loose” lineup preference to a T. That brings me to my next point:
– Zach Hyman should play on the Matthews-Nylander line.
As mentioned above, I was just like each and every one of you who though Zach Hyman shouldn’t play alongside Matthews and Nylander. Given his horrid shooting percentage and general inability to produce on a line with two extremely talented scorers, it just didn’t seem like a good fit. Once I saw them playing together, however, it made sense again. Not to mention, I really liked Mike Babcock’s description of what Hyman brings to that line:
Babcock: I’m not dumb. That’s what I read, that you guys want [that]. This is what I’m going to do: I’m going to coach the time, and you guys are going to write the articles. Hyman is a guy who gets the puck back all the time. When you’re a good player — I’ve learned from good players — they like to have the puck. When you have three guys who want the puck… Datsyuk used to tell me all the time, “No, put him on somebody else’s line. I want somebody to get me the puck.” He gets the puck back better than anyone. So, whatever. That’s it for that.
Here’s a link from last year that I think illustrates that. Hyman might not be your atypical playmaker, but he’s very adept and getting down low and digging the puck out to the front of the net. It’s something he did often last year.
And as Babcock said, that’s it for that.
– Calle Rosen should be the 6th defenseman
I truly understand why people think it should be Andreas Borgman. He possesses the skill, has some size, and can throw it around without sacrificing foot speed. Not to mention he’s a touch younger and he’s played well so far this preseason.
All that said, I’ve been very impressed by the composure shown by Rosen throughout the preseason. He plays with a level head and has looked good offensively. He may need to work on his zone exits, but that’s a developing stat that’s slowly starting to gain more traction, and doesn’t paint the full picture of his ability. He played with the full NHL team last night and here’s how zone exit statistics shook down:
Rosen’s exit stats don’t look fantastic compared to his teammates, but as I stated above it doesn’t tell the whole story. Plus, he had the least amount of opportunities to exit the defensive zone with the puck than his teammates. There is one player though that he’s significantly better than.
Connor Carrick has been much maligned for his play thus far, and I don’t think it’s all that off-base. I’ve said before that his position as 5th D is his to lose, and while I don’t think he’ll completely lose it, he’s definitely lost some minutes. By the end of camp, I wouldn’t be surprised if Babcock kept 8 D, with Carrick, Rosen, Borgman, and Martin Marincin making up the bottom 4. It’s not what I think will happen (Borgman will benefit from AHL time), but I wouldn’t be surprised.
– The emergence of Miro Aaltonen
It’s safe to say that nobody saw this coming. When the Maple Leafs signed Dominic Moore this offseason, it was widely assumed that he would handle the fourth line centre duties. That all changed when Miro Aaltonen arrived.
There wasn’t much fanfare to Aaltonen’s signing, nor was there much evidence that he’d be a factor this season; most analysts had him behind Adam Brooks at Marlies camp. Since his arrival though, he’s played great alongside whomever he played with. He’s played in both offensive roles and shutdown roles overseas, experiences that will be crucial to his success in a fourth line role.
My hot take prediction is that Aaltonen makes this team, with Moore and Josh Leivo starting the season in the press box. Moore hasn’t done enough and Eric Fehr hasn’t stood out as he needed to.
This preseason is certainly a more interesting one than I can remember; for the first time in a long time the position battles are different; rather than the Maple Leafs looking for a new gamebreaker, they’re looking for that final piece of the puzzle. It’s made this preseason so interesting and I can’t wait to see how it finally unfolds!
Open Ice Hits 
Babcock is no idiot but having Brown on a forth line does not make any sense at all.
He is probably the most complete hockey player the Leafs have.
Kadri and Maleau would greatly benefit from Brownies presence on their line.
LikeLike
I don’t imagine that it’ll last long, but I’ve liked the look of Komarov on that third line role. Both Komarov and Brown can be played all through the lineup fairy well, I think they’ll be shuffled around for the first few games before ultimately settling on something.
LikeLike
Unless Fehr is sent down to the Marlies for cap relief, I don’t think Aaltonen will be starting with the Leafs. Fehr just looked better last night.
LikeLike
That was the first game for me where Fehr stood out over Aaltonen. I still don’t think Aaltonen looked bad last night, as much as Fehr looked better. Ultimately it’s gonna come down to Fehr or Aaltonen; Dominic Moore seems to have rebounded and I liked his play last night, while Leivo is essentially a lock.
LikeLike