In many respects, Wednesday felt like Groundhog Day in Leafs Nation.
It all started with the unexpected news surrounding the status of Joseph Woll prior to the morning skate, and it ended with a 1-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the season opener.
Just for good measure, the much-maligned power play stunk up the joint as well. While it’s obviously important to preface that it’s just one game, I think that it’s imperative that the Leafs use the regular season to tinker with a few things.
And that they did in game No. 1 of the season. Most notably, at least to start, it appears that Marc Savard, who’s in charge of the power play, wants to deploy both units equally.
If that’s the case, it makes absolutely no sense to stack the top unit. At this point, we know what they bring to the table, it’s time to try something fresh and new. Instead, spreading the wealth could prove to be the key to it all. Under Sheldon Keefe, they barely gave that thought a go, so why not try it out? What’s the worst that can happen?
The biggest problem I see with the second unit right now is that it doesn’t possess a true centre. For me, inserting John Tavares in that role would solve a lot of issues. On top of that, as currently constructed, the first unit has too many guys who love to wheel with the puck. Furthermore, PP2 feels like a mix and match of the best of the rest on the roster. Again, there’s no harm in trying a few things out.
Any way you slice it, there’s only so much Savard can do to give the No. 1 unit a different look without making personnel changes. Over the years, from Manny Malholtra to Guy Boucher, among others, there’s been a laundry list of coaches who’ve had a go with these same five guys. At the end of the day, when it matters most, they’ve been incapable of getting the job done. It’s time to go a different direction.
