The Toronto Maple Leafs have made their first set of cuts. So, things are getting more serious about what the 2022-23 iteration of the team will look like. There are injuries that need to heal and a further round of cuts to get down to the 22 or 23 players who will be part of the roster that begins the season.
When looking at how the preseason games have worked to sift through the players, and there were some surprises, I wanted to take a look at what the roster might be if the season started today.
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What the Lines and Pairings Probably Look Like for Game 1 of the 2022-23 Regular Season
Forward Line Combinations
First Line: Michael Bunting – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner
Second Line: Nick Robertson/Denis Malgin – Alex Kerfoot – William Nylander
Third Line: Pierre Engvall – David Kampf – Calle Jarnkrok
Fourth Line: Zach Aston-Reese – Adam Gaudette – Nicolas Aube-Kabel
Extra Forward: Either Denis Malgin or Nick Robertson
Notes: I see both Denis Malgin and Nick Robertson making the team. I’m assuming that Pierre Engvall’s ankle is healed enough to allow him to play. Finally, I think Calle Jarnkrok will slide into his third-line spot.
However, if he moves to the top-six, that will trickle down to affect other forwards. I think both Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford will be waived.
My call is that, given how he’s played, Robertson will be seen as value added to the top-six. I think Malgin has looked good all preseason and might flip-flop with Robertson throughout the season.
Related: Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Robertson, Murray & Muzzin
Defensive Pairings
First Pairing: Morgan Rielly – TJ Brodie
Second Pairing: Jake Muzzin – Justin Holl
Third Pairing: Mark Giordano – Rasmus Sandin
Extra Defenseman: Victor Mete
Notes: I assume that Timothy Liljegren will be placed on LTIR. That moves Rasmus Sandin to the right side and allows him to play with Mark Giordano, which (in my mind) is a pairing made in heaven.
Goalie Rankings
Goalie 1A: Matt Murray
Goalie 1B: Ilya Samsonov
Notes: Thus far in the preseason, both goalies have looked solid. That said, Matt Murray has looked confident and poised in the net. I think the goalie’s job is his job to lose. However, I also see the possibility that the coaching staff balances the starts more than they were able to last season when Petr Mrazek was injured.
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gcmgome
October 5, 2022 at 9:09 am
It looks like all of Kyle Clifford, Wayne Simmonds, Joey Anderson and possibly Victor Mete and Adam Gaudette will be waived for re-assignment to the Marlies. It’s actually a very tough call. If Denis Malgin were expose to waivers he would surely be claimed, where the five other players would have varying degrees of claim risk.
It would be disappointing if Nick Robertson’s waiver exempt status worked against him but you have to think that the Leafs are not going to expose Malgin….no matter what.
Then there is the fact that Zach Aston-Reese has not yet been released from his PTO or signed to an NHL contract. He is likely in the Leafs’ plans but we will not know for certain until his status changes.
Then there is the goalie situation …which I predicted is going to work out just fine. I also like the flexibility provided by the fact that the de facto 3rd stringer; Erik Kallgren is waiver exempt. Who knows how things will shake out between the pipes over the course of the season? Kallgren is just one injury away from being pressed into service but could also be given spot duty at any time throughout the season for any number of reasons.
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