[Siegel – The Athletic] Auston Matthews’ linemates, John Klingberg’s role: The 12 biggest storylines of Maple Leafs training camp

https://theathletic.com/4859372/2023/09/14/maple-leafs-training-camp-matthews-klingberg/

**The left-wing job on Auston Matthews’ line**

Option 1 – Tyler Bertuzzi

Option 2 – Matthew Knies

Option 3 – Max Domi

Option 4 – Calle Järnkrok

**John Klingberg’s role**

“I wonder if it’s more advantageous for the Leafs to team Klingberg up with Mark Giordano on pairing No. 3. That would a) allow Klingberg to face lighter competition, b) play on offence more often, including the odd offensive zone draw with Rielly and c) give Timothy Liljegren a chance to prove he’s ready for full-time top-four duty.”

Will he take Rielly’s spot on PP1?

**Rookie Matthew Knies**

“Is Knies a 100 percent lock to make the Leafs out of camp? Maybe like 98 percent, with a teeny tiny bit of space for the possibility that he struggles in his first NHL training camp.”

Mentions the workload of an NHL season as well. Going from 40 games in a season to 3-4 games a week for 82 games. Also notes that he really seemed to fit in anywhere he was played in the lineup.

**Cap crunch**

“They might be forced to go with the bare minimum of 12 forwards, six defencemen and two goalies, which could mean some difficult waiver decisions at the end of camp.”

**Goalie competition (or not)**

“Ilya Samsonov is the No. 1, Joseph Woll is the No. 2 and Martin Jones is the No. 3. Will that change at camp? Barring injury, it’s unlikely, especially with Woll now crucially requiring waivers.”

**Dark horse possibilities**

Jonas isn’t convinced they would send Robertson down again if he has another great pre-season.

“There’s at least one job up for grabs, it would appear, on the fourth line — presumably at centre.”

“It’s actually easier to imagine Bobby McMann claiming a spot with an impressive camp. Or perhaps it’s simply one of Pontus Holmberg, Dylan Gambrell or Noah Gregor winning the 4C job. (Keefe could also play Sam Lafferty in the middle.)”

Timmins and his $1.1M cap hit may be too expensive for the Leafs.

**The Nylander extension**

Nylander will say he wants to remain as a Maple Leaf. “he question is whether the Leafs will entice him to commit to that future before the start of the season.”

**Nylander or Marner with Matthews**

“Which combo was more effective for the Leafs? Purely in terms of numbers on the board: Matthews with Nylander. The Leafs outscored opponents 38-14 in their minutes and won 57 percent of the expected goals.

Matthews and Marner didn’t fare so bad either: A 33-20 advantage in goals, with a 59 percent win in the expected goals department.”

“…for two seasons in a row now, the Leafs have been outscored when Nylander and Tavares share the ice.

In last year’s playoffs, Nylander and Tavares logged about 90 minutes together at five-on-five. The Leafs were outscored 6-3.”

**The Brad Treliving era begins**

“The culture change when Kyle Dubas took over for Lou Lamoriello as Leafs GM was meaningful.”

“The shift from Dubas to Treliving probably won’t be so dramatic, but the operation will inevitably change with a new GM around.”

**Guy Boucher, new assistant coach and … power-play maestro?**

“In his last coaching stop, Boucher didn’t boast especially punchy power-play units. The Senators were 14th when he was fired in 2019, 27th in the 2017-18 season, and 23rd a year before that.

Of course, the personnel here is just a tad better.”

**The mix on D**

“Will Rielly and Brodie reunite, leaving one of Klingberg or Liljegren to play with McCabe? Or might Keefe send Brodie back to play with McCabe and try to recreate a matchup pair of sorts? That would presumably leave Liljegren to hook back up with Rielly and Klingberg to play third-pair minutes with Giordano.”

**Injuries**

“The Leafs’ depth, pretty suspect at this point, would be tested with an injury or two.”

by malliabu