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Leafs are considering moving Marner to centre

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Nov 19 2024, 6:50 pm
Leafs are considering moving Marner to centre
John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs are dealing with several injuries up front, and are considering some significant line changes as a result.

The Leafs are still without Auston Matthews, and it was announced yesterday that Calle JƤrnkrok underwent sports hernia surgery. Those aren’t the only centres out of the lineup, either, as David Kampf was recently placed on injured reserve.

That leaves the Leafs with three centremen out of the lineup and Max Pacioretty still missing.

To make up for the losses, Craig Berube is considering moving Mitch Marner from right wing to centre. It would be a big transition for the 27-year-old, but, as reported by Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan, his head coach believes he can handle it.

“I talked to Mitch the other day about [playing centre], actually,” Berube told reporters this morning. “He said, ‘No problem, whatever you want.’ He’s smart enough, for sure.”

Many questioned how Marner would perform under a hard-nosed coach such as Berube, but it hasn’t been an issue whatsoever to this point. He’s registered 24 points through 19 games, which leads the Leafs in scoring. Even more importantly, his strong defensive play has remained, which seems to have earned Berube’s trust.

What’s interesting about this is that, before the season began, there was plenty of talk about the potential of moving William Nylander to centre. They gave him some looks in exhibition play but ultimately decided to have him back in his regular right wing position.

The Leafs have an off day today but will be back in action tomorrow night against one of the Western Conference’s heavy hitters, the Vegas Golden Knights. While line combinations are unknown at this point, Leafs fans may very well see Marner play down the middle tomorrow.

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