New Leafs lines revealed on first day of training camp
It’s been a busy offseason for the Toronto Maple Leafs. And with the arrival of training camp, fans are finally starting to get a picture of how this year’s lineup could look.
Newly appointed head coach Craig Berube rolled out three fresh groups of lines and defence pairings on Thursday morning in his first official practice with the team.
Among the bench boss’ most notable combinations were Matthew Knies, Mitch Marner, and new captain Auston Matthews on the top line of Group 1.
Day 1 of camp is underway!! pic.twitter.com/gsbxskrUxj
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) September 19, 2024
Meanwhile, John Tavares found himself on a trio with youngsters between Jared McMann and Nick Robertson, as reported below by TSN’s Mark Masters.
Notable combos at Leafs practice
Group 1 of 3Knies – Matthews – Marner
McMann – Tavares – Robertson
Cowan – Quillan – A. NylanderRielly – Tanev
Chadwick – Timmins
Rifai – Villeneuve
Mermis – MyersWoll
Murray @TSN_Edge— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) September 19, 2024
On the backend, Berube paired newly signed veteran defenceman Chris Tanev with longtime Leafs defender Morgan Rielly.
Moving on to Group 2, William Nylander moved from the wing to centre a line with Max Domi and Calle Jarnkrok.
Veteran forward Max Pacioretty, who recently joined Toronto on a PTO found himself paired up with Pontus Holmberg and Russian prospect Nikita Grebyonkin.
A realistic bottom-six line consisting of David Kampf, Ryan Reaves, and new addition Steven Lorentz was also composed.
Notable combos at Leafs practice
Group 2 of 3Domi – Nylander – Jarnkrok
Pacioretty – Holmberg – Grebenkin
Lorentz – Kampf – ReavesEkman-Larsson – McCabe
Webber – Liljegren
Kokkonen – NiemelaStolarz
HildebyAbsent: Benoit (baby) @TSN_Edge
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) September 19, 2024
Group 3 is mostly composed of AHL-level players but does include newly signed defenceman Jani Hakanpaa. Meanwhile, depth defenceman Simon Benoit was absent from camp as he was celebrating the birth of his first child.
There will surely be tweaks before the regular season begins, but these are Toronto’s most NHL-ready lines as of today:
Forwards
Matthew Knies – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner
Max Domi – William Nylander – Calle Jarnkrok
Bobby McMann – John Tavares – Nick Robertson
Steven Lorentz – David Kampf – Ryan Reaves
Defence
Morgan Rielly – Chris Tanev
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Jake McCabe
Goalies
Joseph Woll – Anthony Stolarz
The Leafs will skate on Friday and Saturday before kicking off their preseason schedule with a matchup against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena.