Toronto Maple Leafs continue to make one baffling lineup choice
The Toronto Maple Leafs have performed about as reasonably expected in their first 50 games with Craig Berube.
Sitting atop the Atlantic Division with 61 points, good enough for third in the Eastern Conference and seventh in the entire NHL, Berube’s had a mostly smooth tenure in his first season behind the bench in Toronto.
A Stanley Cup-winning coach during his time with the St. Louis Blues, it’s hard to be too critical of his moves thus far, given the team’s success.
But one choice of his continues to baffle: the inclusion of 38-year-old Ryan Reaves as a part of the team’s lineup, even with some limited playing time.
After his call-up from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Nikita Grebenkin was an extra at Tuesday’s practice, as per TSN’s Mark Masters. Grebenkin, a 21-year-old forward from Russia, has suited up in seven games this season, only two of which have come with Reaves in the lineup.
Reaves, meanwhile, skated alongside Steven Lorentz and David Kampf on the team’s fourth line, suggesting he’ll be in tomorrow night when the Leafs host the Minnesota Wild.
The main question is: what’s the end goal here?
Grebenkin hasn’t been some hotshot rookie of the year candidate in his first stint with the Leafs, but it doesn’t seem to be the wisest choice for player development to call him up to the NHL solely to put him in the press box once again.
He’s still in search of his first NHL point in 61 minutes of action, but coming off a year where he potted 19 goals in the KHL with championship-winning side Magnitogorsk Metallurg, has clearly some offensive talent at the pro level.
Meanwhile, his eight goals and eight assists in 29 AHL games with the Marlies this season are the team’s best of any U25 player.
Reaves, on the other hand, has put up just two points in 31 contests with the Leafs, and outside of his 94 hits that rank fourth on the team, hasn’t done much of anything to register on the scoresheet. At 38 years old, he’s much closer to the end of his NHL career than the start of it and seems to be taking up a roster spot that would be more widely used on a younger player.
With Reaves averaging 7:48 per night and Grebenkin averaging 8:45, their ice time hovers in the same range that it’s fair to say the former’s inclusion in the lineup is directly affecting the latter’s NHL experience.
And the experience isn’t totally unique to Grebenkin; Alex Steeves, Alex Nylander, and now Jacob Quillan, who made his NHL debut on Saturday, are all forwards who have split time in the AHL but have played less than 10 games this season.
Perhaps there’s more we’re not seeing behind the scenes, but at the surface level, keeping Reaves in the lineup is a rather peculiar move that continues to baffle Leafs fans.