Toronto Maple Leafs: Potential line combinations with John Tavares

John Tavares, the biggest free agent of the summer, has signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. What will Toronto’s lines look like next season?

The Toronto Maple Leafs have tons of depth at the wings. But their biggest problem has always been center depth. With both Tyler Bozak and Tomas Plekanec leaving as free agents, they took a big hit and needed to replenish their stock. Well, signing John Tavares is doing way more than finding a solid third-line center.

They have just sky-rocketed their odds at winning the Stanley Cup. The Leafs’ may have some weaknesses on defense. But with an offense like this, that should not be a problem at all.

Here’s a tweet from Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston that should have all the other 30 teams shaking in their boots.

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Oh my god, look at that. Marleau and Matthews didn’t play together much last season, but when they did, it was electric. In the first game, Matthews was a big reason why Marleau recorded his first two goals as a Leaf.

Mitch Marner will be the driver of the second line, feeding Tavares to fuel his wicked shot. Zach Hyman will be the one puck hunting along the boards and blocking the goalie’s vision.

The third line could feature Andreas Johnsson, Nazem Kadri, and Kasperi Kapanen. That line is pure speed with some snarl mixed in. It will be so hard to contain all three of them, especially with the breakout speed of Kapanen and Johnsson.

They average about a breakaway a game and will be a good energy-inducing line. Whenever the Leafs starts to lack intensity, fans will be able to count on this line to jump over the boards to set them back on track. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Johnsson quickly become a favorite of head coach Mike Babcock.

As for the fourth line, it is still up in the air. According to Sportsnet, Matt Martin is getting a lot of interest from other teams. If a trade happens, then the Leafs will either have to get help from the outside or use a player from the Marlies. During the Marlies’ Calder Cup run, Carl Grundstrom, Trevor Moore, and Dmytro Timashov were all really good and could be potential options.

Honestly though, with those top three lines, who cares about the fourth line?

Next: NHL Free Agency Instant Analysis

The Leafs now have the best center group in the league and with their depth and talent on the wings, this team will be a force to be reckoned with.