Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens Preseason Split-Squad Lineups: Stars Stay in Toronto, Bottom Six Heads to Montreal

The Maple Leafs’ split-squad preseason rosters are now available for their games against the Canadiens in Montreal and Toronto. Front and center among the storylines, Gavin McKenna will make his (unofficial/preseason) home debut in a Leafs sweater.

A few notes:

• Unsurprisingly, the Leafs’ top three defensemen — Darren Raddysh, Chris Tanev, and Jake McCabe — will play at home, along with their top-six forward group of Matthew Knies–Auston Matthews–Jack Roslovic and Gavin McKenna–John Tavares–William Nylander. The NHL goaltending tandem of Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz will also dress/split the net in Toronto.
• While most eyes will fixate on the McKenna-Tavares-Nylander line, Jim Hiller said the Knies–Matthews–Roslovic line is the combination he is most curious to assess this preseason: “That is the line I am most interested in. We will watch them closely, watch some video together, and then I think I will have a better assessment.”
• Speaking of Roslovic’s potential fit on the line, he underlined the importance of 200-foot play: “You have to be a good two-way player. You are playing with Auston, so you have to create offense. But on the other side of it, if we are going to allow him a little more freedom and creativity to take some risks, try to make some plays, and hang onto the puck in the offensive zone, there are going to be times when you are the guy cleaning it up on the way back. When you play with Auston, you have to be good both ways. That is the way I see it. You can’t just be a pure offensive player or just a checker. For me, that doesn’t work nearly as well. Jack and Matthew (Knies) both fit that bill. Now, let’s see where it goes.”
• Dakota Joshua is not listed on either roster. We’ll have to wait and see about his status, but if Joshua misses out on some of the limited preseason action, it obviously presents a golden opportunity for Steven Lorentz to secure a fourth-line spot for opening night.
• Most of the Leafs’ bottom six will also head to Montreal, including the full Easton Cowan–Nick Paul–Colton Sissons line as well as Brandon Duhaime and Teddy Blueger.
• Sending the Cowan–Paul–Sissons line to Montreal makes sense, and it will be the main storyline worth watching in the road game given Hiller’s comments about its matchup potential. The Canadiens will dress an NHL-heavy lineup at home, so the trio could receive a healthy dose of ice time against Nick Suzuki’s line, for instance. How they fare in those minutes is worth monitoring.
• With the two rosters comprised almost entirely of established professional players — plus Gavin McKenna — the presence of recently turned 19-year-old Harry Nansi (September 10 birthdate) among the 12 forwards playing tonight in Toronto is notable, in addition to Tinus Luc Koblar. Nansi is an intriguing project prospect who notably increased his production in the OHL last season before impressing at last week’s prospect competition. It isn’t always pretty, but he has a knack for making something happen on the ice, is unafraid to make plays in traffic, and is a right-shot with some size.
• Morgan Rielly isn’t on either roster, but he is known to be ramping back up after an illness.
• Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the only member of the Leafs’ expected top six on defense who will play in the Montreal game, but Nick Blankenburg will be in Montreal as well, for one of only two preseason games to try to earn an NHL contract. The Leafs do have the space under the 50-contract limit to sign him if we assume Koblar’s contract slides with a return to Europe.
• We’ll update this article later with the complete line combinations for each game.
• You can watch the game in Montreal on Sportsnet One. The game in Toronto can be seen on TSN4 in the Leafs’ viewing region or TSN2 in the Canadiens’ viewing region. 7 p.m. EST puck drop.