What the Leafs' lines are projected to look like for next season
The Toronto Maple Leafs might still be a few months out from getting their season underway, but speculating about the team’s lineup is a year-round endeavour.
The Leafs are heading into the 2024-25 regular season with as high expectations as ever, particularly after a first-round playoff loss to the Boston Bruins.
With former St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube now leading the charge for Toronto, he has the opportunity to put his stamp on the team’s forward lines and defensive pairings.
“We want to be highly competitive every night. It is all about the team for me. That is one of the things I really focus on. That is part of building a team. Everybody is important on a team. Everyone has to be used on a team. They all have jobs and roles on the team,” Berube said at his introductory press conference back in May.
There are a few new faces in town, most notably Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Chris Tanev joining the franchise on the back end. There’s also a decent chance that 2023 first-round draft pick Easton Cowan will make his NHL debut to begin the year, possibly getting a shot in Toronto’s top-six forward group.
While it’s still quite some time away, here’s our best bet at guessing how Berube will trot out the lines to start the season in October:
Projected Leafs lines
Forwards
- William Nylander-Auston Matthews-Easton Cowan
- Matthew Knies- John Tavares- Mitchell Marner
- Max Domi-Calle Järnkrok-David Kämpf
- Bobby McMann-Pontus Holmberg-Nick Robertson
- Extra forward: Ryan Reaves
Defencemen
- Morgan Rielly- Christopher Tanev
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Timothy Liljegren
- Jake McCabe- Simon Benoît
- Extra: Conor Timmins
Projected goalies
- Joseph Woll
- Anthony Stolarz
- Matt Murray
The Leafs’ 2024-25 regular season schedule was officially unveiled last week along with the NHL’s other 31 teams, with the games counting for real as of October 9. Toronto will start things off with a road game against their eternal rival, the Montreal Canadiens, before a trip to New Jersey on October 10 ahead of their home opener on October 12 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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