Maple Leafs finally have Nicolas Roy, so why is Auston Matthews still taking the hard minutes?
Photo credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Toronto acquired Nic Roy this offseason as a way to finally get their rugged penalty killing center. So how come Auston Matthews is still leading the charge?
When the Maple Leafs traded Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights this offseason, it brought an end to an era and signalled a shift towards a new identity.
The return in that trade, Nicolas Roy, was acquired to give Toronto an anchor in the bottom six who can kill penalties, be another big body on the ice, and instil some of Craig Berube's no-nonsense attitude.
What Nicolas Roy was actually brought in to do for the Leafs
He's certainly capable, however his usage shows that perhaps Berube isn't utilizing him to the best of his ability, and it's hurting the Maple Leafs.
Right now, the team relies heavily on their captain, Auston Matthews, to play the heavy defensive minutes which makes sense considering he is one of the best defensive forwards on the team and has had Selke considerations.
But it's hindering his main focus, which is scoring goals. Last season although he dealt with injuries, Matthews was given more focus defensively and employed more and more in the defensive zone.
Roy wasn't brought in to score 25-30 goals and carry the offense, but to handle tough minutes and support the stars.
By most defensive metrics, Roy has held his own and grades out better in expected goals against than a few of Toronto's top offensive players.
David Kampf was previously the most leaned-on forward on the PK, logging well over 500 shorthanded minutes for Toronto, while Matthews still took a significant share of those tough minutes.
If Roy can take some of those heavy minutes and become the new Kampf albeit with more offensive capability, there's a strong chance it could elevate Matthews again.
Why Auston Matthews shouldn't still be used like Nicolas Roy
Craig Berube loves using his captain to play defense.
This year, Matthews is still starting more often in the defensive zone than you'd expect for an elite scorer, and he's taking a heavy share of the PK work on top of that.
When Matthews was the most dangerous, he was placed against less than elite levels of talent and teams, and he's playing such heavy defensive minutes it's giving him no chance to pounce.
One caveat to this situation is that the Maple Leafs have to also help him out by making sure they stop taking so many penalties. While there is discussion about whether the league is more unfair to the Leafs than others, it's careless behaviour that costs them.
They have a total of 55 penalties combined for a total of 141 PIM but it's who gets penalized that really hurts. Of the top five penalty minute leaders on the Maple Leafs, three are defenseman: Simon Benoit, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Jake McCabe.
But if Roy, a player who takes minimal penalties is stuck on the second PK where he plays 15-20 seconds; he's ineffective.
So it's time for the team to stay true to their philosophy shift and use the players they talked up so heavily in the way that best suits their game.
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