The Toronto Maple Leafs are starting from a place that makes plenty of sense on paper: keep familiar pieces together, avoid overcomplicating the early weeks, and let players settle into roles they already know. That approach shows up most clearly in the top six, where the club appears ready to lean on chemistry and comfort rather than chase something new right away.
Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic have history, while Matthew Knies has already spent several seasons alongside Matthews. On the other side, John Tavares and William Nylander are well acquainted, and the team also seems intent on giving Gavin McKenna skilled support without dropping him onto the top line. It’s a straightforward setup, and one Toronto can justify if it wants to start the season with stability.
Roslovic, though, brings a little more uncertainty than the rest. Talent has never been the issue, but he’ll be on his sixth NHL team before turning 30.
He has a track record of flashing early and starting seasons well, which may be exactly what Toronto is banking on. If he gets going quickly, the Leafs can leave the structure alone.
If not, they have room to adjust.
The line that raises the biggest question is Tavares’ group. With the puck, it could be dangerous.
Without it, maybe not so much. The skill level is obvious, but there’s a different kind of edge that comes from players who can make life miserable on the other side of the puck.
Nick Paul and Easton Cowan aren’t Wendel Clark and Gary Roberts, but they do bring physicality and a willingness to make things uncomfortable. That kind of ingredient matters.
Cowan, in particular, is someone who could fit more often in the top six. For now, though, that may be something the Leafs get to later if injuries open the door.
At the moment, the logic is easy enough to follow. Toronto is hoping the group starts well, because a fast beginning gives the team more flexibility down the road if changes are needed.
The pairing that keeps standing out, though, is Matthews and Nylander. Toronto has long seemed reluctant to put its best centre with its best winger for extended stretches, and that remains hard to understand.
Mike Babcock resisted doing it with Matthews and Mitch Marner, and now in Edmonton, so far it’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the same line. Did he learn something, or just different players?
Matthews and Nylander don’t need to fit the old-fashioned scorer-and-playmaker template. Both can score.
Both can create. They also bring a natural lefty-righty fit, and they have years of experience together.
During the three seasons Jim Hiller spent with the Maple Leafs, the two outscored opponents 76-47 at five-on-five when they were on the ice together, while controlling nearly 62 percent of the goals in those minutes. Only Zach Hyman logged more time with Matthews during that span.
The odd part is how often Toronto seems to arrive at that combination only when it’s searching for a spark. The expectation is always that Matthews and Nylander will immediately take off, and if they don’t, the experiment gets shelved again. That cycle has become familiar.
If the Leafs genuinely believe in the fit, the answer might be patience. Keep them together for a real stretch.
Give them the first 20 games of the season and see what develops. If Matthews is skating the way he was in his first preseason game, there’s reason to find out what that duo can do with time to build.
That’s where Toronto’s bigger challenge lies. The lineup choices aren’t wild.
They’re measured, logical, and built around players who know one another. The defence, too, looks a little more balanced and a little less complicated.
But sensible is not always the same thing as best.
The Leafs have changed enough that there should be room for something new to emerge. The temptation will be to settle into the safe answers quickly. If Toronto really wants a different result, it may need to resist that urge and let some of the less familiar combinations breathe long enough to show what they can become.
In Other News...
Leafs Already Have An Early Regret Watching Two Ex-Forwards Shine
Nick Robertson is already making an early impression in Pittsburgh, and it comes against the backdrop of a move that felt overdue in Toronto. The former Maple Leafs winger scored his first goal with the Penguins in a preseason game, a reminder that his speed and finish can still pop when he gets the right runway. For a Leafs club that has spent plenty of time trying to sort out its depth and identity on the wing, seeing a familiar name settle in quickly elsewhere is the kind of small development that gets noticed.
Matias Maccelli has done the same with the Islanders after signing a one-year contract, piling up three points in his preseason debut. He, too, is showing the sort of early chemistry and creativity that made him an intriguing fit before his time with Toronto ended. The Leafs are only in the opening stages of a new season, but watching two former forwards start strong in new uniforms is the sort of reminder that roster decisions can linger far beyond training camp. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs May Have Found The Blue Line Balance They Need
The Maple Leafs are still in the stage where the blue line is more puzzle than finished product, but the pieces are starting to make sense. Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev look like the kind of steady, defense-first pairing that can handle tough minutes, while Morgan Rielly alongside Darren Raddysh offers a different sort of balance with more puck movement and support from the back end.
What remains unsettled is the third pair, and that is where Torontos depth chart still feels open to interpretation. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Troy Stecher, Emil Andrae and Nick Blankenburg are all in the mix as the Leafs sort through options, and with time still left before the season, the club can keep weighing fit, role and chemistry before locking in its final look. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Blue Line Battle Just Got More Serious
The Maple Leafs are tightening the screws on their blue line as training camp moves toward opening night, putting defensemen Cole McWard and Dakota Mermis on waivers while they trim the roster ahead of the upcoming NHL season. Mermis saw action in 11 games for Toronto last year, while McWard arrived as a free agent signing this summer, and both had been part of the group fighting for a role in the teams defensive depth.
The move is another sign that the back end is still very much up for grabs, with several players competing for the limited spots available. Toronto still has decisions to make before the lineup is finalized, and these waiver moves suggest the margins are getting thinner by the day for anyone hoping to stick. [Read more 🡒]