Craig Berube Sends Message With New Maple Leafs Line Changes Ahead of Devils Game
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
The Toronto Maple Leafs unveiled some new lines at practice as they try to shake off a 4-3 OT loss on Saturday and look for a victory vs. New Jersey on Tuesday.
Early on in the 2025 NHL season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are at a little bit of an impasse.
While they are 3-2-1, they haven't had the best overall games as they try to figure out how this brand new identity is going to work together after so many changes.
Looking ahead to Tuesday night, they take on former head coach Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils, a team off to a blistering 4-1-0 start, and one that Toronto is going to need all hands on deck against.
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Craig Berube is already making some big changes by demoting Easton Cowan, and it didn't stop there.
With the Maple Leafs taking practice on Monday, the lineup looked a little different as we saw Max Domi leap up to the top line, meanwhile Cowan is seemingly a healthy scratch with Calle Jarnkrok back in:
Knies - Matthews - Domi
Maccelli - Tavares - Nylander
Joshua - Roy - McMann
Robertson - Lorentz - Jarnkrok
Extra: Cowan, Blais
Maccelli - Tavares - Nylander
Joshua - Roy - McMann
Robertson - Lorentz - Jarnkrok
Extra: Cowan, Blais
Rielly - Carlo
McCabe - Tanev
Benoit - Ekman-Larsson
Myers
McCabe - Tanev
Benoit - Ekman-Larsson
Myers
Stolarz
Primeau
Primeau
Easton Cowan and Sammy Blais as scratches seem to make sense although Blais should get a chance eventually as there's a clear reason why he was brought in.
Obviously though, Berube is willing to make some big changes early on, and it's clear he is trying to find some unheralded chemistry with this new group.
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But are the changes going to be enough?
We have the aforementioned Domi alongside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, a move we expected before the season began and has some legitimately solid numbers to back up the move.
Matias Maccelli floats to the second line as he still tries to figure out his role on the team and hasn't looked nearly as impressive as we had hoped, but perhaps putting him with two of the team's top scorers is a good start.
That third line gets an injection of speed and offense while also keeping the physicality as Bobby McMann lines up now with Dakota Joshua and Nic Roy; a big grinding and intriguing trio who could surprise many.
But it's all part of Berube's new strategy which is to well, go back to the old. Having some familiarity on the top line will help everyone, and putting Roy and Joshua in more prominent roles again should help them too.
We saw Joshua nearly score a gorgeous goal against Seattle and he is slowly getting his feet under him, and it might be only a matter of time before he strikes.
Toronto has to utilize everyone's size though, as it's been clear that they aren't going to score simply on shots alone. This is a big team who needs to crash the net, screen goalies and cause chaos; that third line is a perfect example.
The fourth line is something to take a look at. Steven Lorentz as a center is a move that is extremely underrated, as he's been very good in his career, and he's shown to be smart enough defensively to earn that role.
Nick Robertson gets a chance again and perhaps against some lesser lines he can shine, but if all else fails there's the ever-reliable Calle Jarnkrok on the wing.
Defense remains the same, though perhaps it might be time to give Brandon Carlo a mental reset after a few egregious errors recently, and Philippe Myers can sub in for Carlo; and he's had success with Rielly before.
Anthony Stolarz earns his sixth start in seven games presumably, and will hope that his team offers much more protection than they have the last two games, or it could get ugly.
It shows that the Maple Leafs are not going to let anyone get a free ride, and if you aren't going to pull your weight, you may find yourself in a lower spot in the lineup, and players need to earn their place.
Crag Berube's new lineup for the Toronto Maple Leafs brings a lot of excitement as to what could be, though don't expect it to stick around long if they end up faltering once again.
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