These are the perfect Toronto Maple Leafs forward lines

TORONTO, CANADA - JANUARY 25: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his game winning goal in overtime against the New York Rangers with teammate Auston Matthews #34 during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on January 25, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Rangers 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

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Nicholas Robertson – John Tavares – Sam Lafferty

The Toronto Maple Leafs could have the best third line of this era right now.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have always had an amazing top-six. Now, however, they could have an elite top nine that can be put up against anyone in the league. With Nylander jumping back into the center role, that could push John Tavares into a third-line center role.

If you have a player as good as Tavares on that line, they could be a truly elite team. He used to be the best or second-best player on the team but he has slowly started to regress so having him as the third-line center is great.

With wingers like Nicholas Robertson and Sam Lafferty, it could be a very productive line. Those guys know how to score and play the game the right way. With a centerman like Tavares driving the line, you might see even more production out of them both.

This is a better idea than having Tavares transition into a wing because he still has plenty of good hockey to give as a center. Having more depth isn’t a knock on Tavares, it is a way to possibly get to the Eastern Conference Finals for once.

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