With the Toronto Maple Leafs gearing up for training camp next week, it’s the perfect time to dive into our thoughts on the team’s final regular season lineup. In this comprehensive review, I’ll be teaming up with my regular writing partner, Stan Smith, to analyze the Maple Leafs’ roster from top to bottom.
We’ll break down our evaluation into three detailed sections. Yesterday, we looked at the team’s top six units. Today, in our second post, we’ll look at the bottom six forward units, assessing their roles and the impact they could have on the team’s overall performance. Tomorrow, we’ll look at the Maple Leafs defense, evaluating its strengths, potential pairings, and overall contributions to the team’s success.
We hope to see what this Maple Leafs team might look like as the regular season begins.
The Maple Leafs’ Third Line: Nick Robertson – Max Domi – Calle Jarnkrok
While Max Domi showed he could be a productive top-six winger alongside Matthews, he did a decent job centering the third line last season. He is the Maple Leafs’ best option for the third-line center to start this season. Domi held his own on the faceoff dot, averaging 50% last season. In 2022-23, he won 53.7% of the 950 draws he took while playing center full-time for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars. Domi’s strengths are his skating and playmaking skills, both essential for the center position.
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Because Domi is more of a playmaker than a goal scorer, he needs a sniper to feed the puck. This is where Nick Robertson comes in. Robertson’s biggest strength is his shot. In his last season in Juniors, Robertson scored 55 goals in 46 games for the Peterborough Petes. That is why we are giving Robertson the edge over Bobby McMann as the left wing on the third line. However, all this depends on the Maple Leafs getting Robertson signed.
The right-handed Calle Jarnkrok is our choice for the right wing on the third line. Jarnkrok’s strength is his defensive play. If Domi and Robertson have a perceived weakness, it would be in their play without the puck. While those two would be expected to step up their defensive play, Jarnkrok would lead the way defensively. Jarnkrok has shown some offensive skills as well at times when he has been needed to step up into a top-six role.
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