Maple Leafs May Have Found Mitch Marner's Replacement Hiding in Plain Sight
Photo credit: Hockey Patrol
While speculation swirls about the Maple Leafs' search for a top-six boost, forward Nic Roy made it clear Friday morning that he's ready to claim that role himself.
With Brad Treliving electing not to make any big moves yet to help his top-six, there are still some issues that are preventing him from adding either a free agent or finding a suitable trade partner with the right targets.
Those issues are causing a bit of tension with the fanbase given they are wondering what exactly the game plan is going forward and with only a month left; there's not too much time left.
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But what if the team already has their top-six force, he's just hiding in plain sight?
According to the Leafs Morning Take podcast, it could be Nic Roy, but don't just take it from them. Roy was a guest on the show and explained that he's ready for whatever Toronto throws at him; including a top-six role:
I definitely see myself as someone who can play in the top six if needed, and in different roles. I can handle various situations; power play, penalty kill, big faceoffs. I enjoy that part of the game.
That's a big relief to Leafs fans who were wondering how the team can actually make a deal work, and it also gives Treliving a breath of relief knowing that he can call upon him.
Roy, 28, only had 31 points in 71 games for the Golden Knights last season, but that was in a fourth-line role given how stacked the team was up the middle.
He had a 28-assist season in 2023-24 so clearly there's playmaking potential, and getting the chance alongside Nylander and Tavares will only help that number grow.
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Plus, this really does help the team overall. If they can't find a buyer for Calle Jarnkrok or David Kampf, if Roy moves up to the second line to center John Tavares and William Nylander, it at least gives them a spot for one of them to fill in the bottom-six.
We could see a potential lineup like this:
Knies - Matthews - Domi
Tavares - Roy - Nylander
McMann - Laughton - Maccelli
Joshua/Pezzetta - Kampf - Lorentz
We're leaving Nick Robertson as the 13th forward in this scenario given that we're still trying to keep Kampf around for argument's sake. Truly though, Toronto brought in too many bodies to make things easy that's for sure.
That gives you as much firepower as last season, plus you're not sacrificing defense for the sake of scoring. Is Roy going to hit 100 points? Heavens no, but if he can contribute 55-60 points to a duo that combined for 158 points last season; the team is in good hands.
If you're paying a player $1.825-million to sit in the press box (Robertson) you're insane, and Toronto very likely may be doing so if they can't find a way to dump some players.
That's a whole other can of worms for Brad Treliving though. But thankfully he can rest assured that Roy will be able to step up in any capacity.
It's a good thing too, cause he might need it at this rate.
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