Maple Leafs Lineup Notes – Sep. 17
- The Leafs’ opening-day camp lines offered the first clues about Jim Hiller’s lineup vision, although the combinations remain preliminary, especially with Morgan Rielly temporarily absent due to a viral condition.
- Jack Roslovic opened beside Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews. His speed, right-handed shot, scoring ability, and history with Matthews make him a logical early-season fit, even if he may not be the long-term solution.
- The most intriguing combination was Gavin McKenna–John Tavares–William Nylander. The line possesses enormous creativity and finishing talent but raises questions about defensive reliability, forechecking, and who will provide physical insulation for the 18-year-old McKenna.
- Nick Paul, Colton Sissons, and Easton Cowan formed a flexible third line. Paul and Sissons rotated through center, while Cowan switched wings.
- Paul offers more size and offensive upside at center, while Sissons brings more speed through the middle. The larger question is whether they can provide Cowan with enough offensive support.
- Brandon Duhaime, Teddy Blueger, and Steven Lorentz appeared to form the fourth line, although one report had Dakota Joshua skating ahead of Lorentz.
- Lorentz and Joshua will be in a legitimate competition for a lineup spot. Lorentz’s defensive results and significant penalty-killing role strengthen his case, while Joshua brings better finishing ability and established chemistry with Teddy Blueger.
- Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev were reunited. They previously formed an effective shutdown pairing capable of handling the toughest matchups and defensive-zone assignments. Even with the report of Tanev being “fully healthy,” the Leafs should still manage Tanev carefully. He turns 37 in December, played only 11 games last season, and underwent core-muscle surgery in March.
- With a healthy Rielly, the projected defense could feature McCabe–Tanev, Rielly–Darren Raddysh, and Emil Andrae–Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Remains to be seen.
- McCabe–Tanev could absorb the difficult defensive assignments, freeing Rielly and Raddysh for more favourable offensive deployment, but the defensive question marks are there real for the Rielly-Raddysh pair. Andrae–Ekman-Larsson would form a credible Swedish third pairing.
- Troy Stecher and PTO invitee Nick Blankenburg remain right-shot alternatives if Andrae does not secure the final regular spot.
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