Maple Leafs Reveal Early Look at Penalty Kill Under New Assistant Coach
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
With the hiring of Derek Lalonde this offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a new penalty kill coach, and he's already trying some very interesting combinations.
One of the quieter stories this past offseason for the Toronto Maple Leafs was that of assistant coach Lane Lambert leaving the team in order to pursue a head coaching job with the Seattle Kraken.
Lambert is no stranger to being behind an NHL bench and with a team like Seattle who needs some guidance from a trusted and beloved coach, it was a great fit for both sides.
Maple Leafs New Assistant Already Making Waves On PK
But that left Toronto needing a new assistant which led them to hiring former Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde. The former bench boss is going to look after the defensive aspects of the team as well as working on the team's penalty kill.
It's the latter that's drawing a lot of attention because on Sunday he drew up the new PK units and it's loaded up front:
Knies - Matthews
Joshua - Roy
Lorentz - Laughton
McMann - Nylander
Joshua - Roy
Lorentz - Laughton
McMann - Nylander
McCabe - Tanev
Ekman-Larsson - Carlo
Ekman-Larsson - Carlo
Why Toronto Can Improve Their Penalty Kill With New Groupings
The first unit has both Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies which not only will bring a lot of defensive acumen and a bruising and relentless approach, but could lend itself to a ton of shorthanded chances.
Matthews is a Selke candidate no doubt, and with Berube emphasizing his defence last season, it's no surprise to see him on the first unit.
The second one is also a frightening duo to play against, as both Dakota Joshua and Nic Roy are gigantic, bruising forwards who won't allow opponents an inch of breathing room and are going to create a ton of frustration.
It's interesting however to see both McMann and Nylander working together on the PK because while both are decent defensively, they aren't typically who you think of when you think 'penalty killer'.
These new groups will hopefully be able to bring Toronto up from 17th in the NHL to somewhere a bit more manageable or even fight for a Top-10 performance.
While we still need to take a look at this new penalty killing collective and see how things play out, it seems Lalonde isn't shy about utilizing every asset he can this season.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 22 | 1667 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Reveal Early Look at Penalty Kill Under New Assistant Coach Do you think Toronto's penalty kill will improve this upcoming season? | ||
| Yes | 1149 | 68.9 % |
| No | 518 | 31.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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