It always feels like Groundhog Day when I write about splitting up Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup. We go through this cycle every year. Matthews and Marner start the season slow, they’re put on separate lines for a couple of games, it briefly works, but as soon as they have a quiet game away from each other, they’re reunited on the same line and eventually find their magic again, making everybody forget about this conversation. Then come the playoffs, and so does the evergreen issue with this team — struggling to score. This eventually contributes to their playoff demise, and we restart the cycle. Rinse and repeat.
If you’re not a Leafs fan or don’t spend a significant amount of time watching the team play, you would think the Leafs and their fans have an embarrassment of riches to be complaining that the head coach won’t separate their 60-goal scoring centre and their 90+ point Selke candidate winger. What makes this discussion even funnier is that back when Mike Babcock was at the helm, the discussion was the other way around. He would always play Matthews and Marner on separate lines, and while both players thrived in their own ways, they were kept apart even when those lines ran dry. That combined with the intrigue of what those two players could do when paired together drove the talking point, and when Babcock was fired for Keefe in November 2019, it was a breath of fresh air when he immediately paired the two superstars together.
Five years and five early playoff exits later, there’s proof in the pudding that sometimes there’s such thing as too much of a good thing.
It’s important to note that I’m not suggesting they break up Matthews and Marner because they’re incapable of producing together or because I think Matthews and William Nylander would do any better. It has more to do with the last stretch of games without Matthews in the lineup and how Marner has been able to elevate his game to another level on his own line. That, and the fact that the Leafs have another pass-first winger who happens to be in a nasty slump of his own and has proven in the past that he can be an efficient setup man for Matthews — that of course being Max Domi.
Let’s start there. We can take things back to March 7, 2024, the road game against the Bruins where Marner attempted a wrap-around and twisted his ankle on the way around. He ended up suffering a high-ankle sprain and had to miss a month of action. Domi subsequently took his spot on Matthews’ right side, and in those 13 games without Marner, tallied nine assists and ten points. He achieved his best results by a mile during this time and his efficient playmaking helped him emerge as a legitimate threat when paired with the right players in the top six. Taking him out of the centre position, which is where he’s been playing while Matthews has been out, allowed him to focus entirely on his skillset and the things that he can do to be an effective player, and he also got some extra power play minutes during that time. He probably won’t get that luxury once both Matthews and Marner are healthy, but considering Domi was one of the team’s best producers at 5-on-5 last season, it doesn’t seem like a luxury he needs to succeed.
Now let’s look at Marner without Matthews this season. Albeit a sample size, Marner has proven that he can play the best version of his game and doesn’t have to be alongside Matthews to do it. In five games since the latter has been out of the lineup, Marner has three goals and five assists for eight points. He’s been skating alongside John Tavares and Bobby McMann and has displayed the level of confidence that translates into the best version of him as a player. He’s attacking the zone like a player who knows he has the skill to drive his own line, he’s been contributing to both a penalty kill that’s been rock solid all year (currently sitting at sixth in the league) and a power play that has turned up the heat and become one of the team’s threats again. Seven of his eight points came on the power play, and the other was a goal scored while shorthanded. One of his power play goals was even a one-timer to send the game to overtime, something that he would traditionally be trying to find Matthews for.
MITCHELLYY MARNER!!! 🪄 pic.twitter.com/VpJjaG4SAA
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) November 14, 2024
I’m not sure if religiously keeping Matthews and Marner together was a Keefe call or if it’s something the players pushed for (which might be an issue on its own, if true). I’m leaning towards the former, but we’ll find out once we see which direction Berube opts to go in when Matthews is healthy. We can see clear as day now that Marner can drive his own line, and when you have two players of their calibre in the same lineup, why not spread the wealth a little bit? At least to give it a shot. If it doesn’t work long-term, it is what it is. But Berube should at least start them split apart from each other so the Leafs can have two major lines as threats. Perhaps something to the effect of this, assuming Max Pacioretty is out for a while.
Max Domi – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Matthew Knies – John Tavares – Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann – Pontus Holmberg – Nick Robertson
Steven Lorentz – David Kampf – Connor Dewar
It’s clear that they still have a hole in the middle on the third line, but if the Leafs can have both of their top two lines firing on all spades, they’ll be even tougher to contain and will only become more dangerous when they do swing that trade. It’s worth a look if nothing else.
