The Maple Leafs are giving their fourth line a new look.
Ahead of their trip to Colorado, Toronto has recalled winger Miles Wood from the Toronto Marlies. Wood came over in the Kirill Marchenko-Matthew Knies trade with Columbus, and the Leafs are turning to him as they keep sorting through the right mix on their bottom unit.
After four games of evaluating Duhaime-Blueger-Groulx, it’s clear the Leafs want something different. That group hasn’t been a disaster, but it also hasn’t supplied much juice.
At five-on-five, they haven’t been on for a goal for or against, but the underlying numbers point to a line that’s been outshot and out-chanced. They’re at a 38% shot attempt share, and the high-danger chances are 5-2 for the opposition.
Even with 13 of their 17 zone starts coming in the neutral or offensive zones, the line hasn’t produced the kind of momentum Toronto needs from its fourth unit.
Bo Groulx had earned his opening-night roster spot through his play last season and in preseason, but the fit has looked awkward on the off-wing in an energy role. His best NHL tool is his shot, yet it hasn’t shown up much so far - he has two shots on goal in four games. One third-period chance in a tied game against Vegas, where he held onto the puck too long, stood out for the wrong reasons.
Wood offers a different profile. There’s still some uncertainty about how much game he has left, but he brings speed, physicality, and real experience in the kind of role Toronto is asking for. He has nearly 600 NHL games under his belt as a bottom-six contributor, and that matters when a team is trying to find a fourth line that can actually tilt the ice a little.
There was a time when Wood was more than that. In New Jersey, he was a legitimate top-nine forward, averaging just under 15 minutes a night in multiple seasons.
His game was built on elite speed, pressure on the forecheck, and enough finishing touch to score at a 20-goal pace twice. Injuries changed that arc.
Hip surgery and recurring back problems knocked his career off course, and by the time he landed in Columbus, he was being treated like a salary dump. The 31-year-old is signed at $2.5 million AAV for two more seasons.
Even through those injury issues, Wood has still shown up well in NHL EDGE skating data, ranking among the league’s best skaters. If Toronto puts him in against his former team in Colorado, that speed alone could matter for a fourth line trying to keep up with a fast opponent.
The Leafs also haven’t had the benefit of a full preseason, which makes this kind of lineup shuffling even more necessary. They may have hoped Dakota Joshua would be part of this picture alongside Teddy Blueger, but injuries have kept Joshua out of the mix. For now, the question is whether Wood, Blueger, and Duhaime can give Toronto the burst it’s been missing.
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