Much has been made of how Timothy Liljegren seems to have fallen out of the graces of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ organization and hasn’t immediately earned the trust of his new coach, Craig Berube. The most recent practice defensive pairings still reflect that.
What was a bit of a surprise that the Maple Leafs’ forward lines show Bobby McMann in a somewhat similar situation, with Berube opting to use McMann as his 13th forward in the first line rushes of the 2024-25 opening night Leafs roster.
#Leafs lines during practice Oct. 7/24
Knies-Matthews-Marner
Domi-Tavares-Nylander
Pacioretty-Holmberg-Robertson
Lorentz-Kampf-Reaves
Extra: McMann, DewarRielly-Tanev
OEL-McCabe
Benoit-Timmins
Hakanpaa-Liljegren/MyersWoll
Stolarz@BodogCA— David Alter (@dalter) October 7, 2024
Berube was also left wanting more from McMann.
“There’s more there. I know that. Bobby knows that. I felt like maybe he was a little hesitant at times. He’s a great skater. Good size. Power forward out there. I’m not too worried about it,” Berube said of McMann via Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.
While Berube pushing for more out of McMann is fair, the makeup of the fourth line still raises questions about whether sitting McMann is the right choice, but it seems that Berube wants something very specific from that group against Montreal. With how things were left at the end of the last preseason game against Montreal there really isn’t much of a surprise that Toronto is making sure they have Ryan Reaves dressed in the follow up.
The decision to keep both Steven Lorentz and David Kampf in the lineup instead of picking one or the other to be centre and sitting the other is a bit trickier to understand and comes down to Kampf having value as a penalty killer to the Leafs (though he was utilized less frequently in this role during the preseason), but Lorentz also being the size the Leafs want on the fourth line in what will predictably be a physical game.
The thing is, McMann is also the kind of player the Leafs should want in this game. He was the Leafs’ preseason leader in hits, and if you look beyond the physical aspect of what McMann brings to the game, it’s also worth appreciating that he was tied for the lead in the preseason in shots as well. He was first in individual shot attempts, third in individual high danger shot attempts, and third in individual expect goals. McMann didn’t find the scoresheet and that is the only factor that separates him from the rest of the projected opening night lineup. Most of McMann’s time during the preseason was spent with Pontus Holmberg and Nick Robertson, and understandably Max Pacioretty is going to be in the lineup against Montreal. Much has been made of Nick Robertson earning his spot, so it might be hard to make the case for Robertson coming in there either.
If someone were to come out for McMann, it really seems like it would have been David Kampf, but perhaps that is too much of a shake up and while Lorentz can fill the fourth line centre role, going with two less tested bottom six centres like Holmberg and Lorentz might be too much for the Leafs at the moment.
With the Leafs playing the following night against the New Jersey Devils, it seems likely that it won’t be too long before McMann is back in the mix. A fresh pair of legs after what will likely be a physical season opener will be appreciated and there doesn’t appear to be any reason to believe that McMann is going to be in the press box long term.
Where things will get interesting is that McMann being on the outside is just the start of some interesting decisions for Toronto. Calle Jarnkrok is day-to-day but decisions will need to be made about him in regards to the lineup as well. Connor Dewar is also likely to return in the near future and suddenly the Leafs will find themselves not only in a situation where they are potentially scratching decent players but they will have to demote or trade one as well.
Hopefully the Leafs will see some benefit out of the amount of competition for spots on the lineup card, either through playing hot hands or being able to customize their lineup to their opponent.
Data from Natural Stat Trick
