@palhal thoughts on lines and special teams?

I don't get why some people really don't like Hyman. What he provides for the Tavares line, Johnsson can't do. Its good having a bigger body that can win battles along the boards and tap in some garbage goals from time to time. Hyman did score 20 goals last season. Keep him with Matthews. The 3rd line with Kapanen, Kerfoot and Johnsson would be a matchup nightmare, it would have speed, skill and good defensive play as well. Against other 3rd lines it'll feast.

I just cannot see Babcock separating Hyman from one of the top two lines. We all know too well he is opposed to change. Other than that, and the fact that we don't really know what we have yet in Mikheyev, it sounds about right. I do quite like the D pairings as you have them set. I cannot think of a deeper team in the NHL as far as Centres and RW's go. Thanks for posting.

Rod. Got to agree with Trevorchef, Hyman probably stays with Matthews. Actually I see Spezza doing more RW with Gauthier/Shore at centre. Moore goes to LW. Only because of injuries could I see Agostino seeing minutes. Petan and Aberg. Shouldn't see the NHL ice with the Leafs.
Defence who knows...but maybe your suggestion of having Ceci with Reilly is good. Ceci playing with a good player might calm him down and he can more under control. Either way the Leafs can't afford any injuries on defence unless somehow Holl, Schmaltz, Harpur can suddenly put in quality NHL minutes.

Hyman doesn't have the hands to play with the top players on the team. He works hard, harder than most, which is why Babcock has used him the way he has but as the skill builds on the lw, Hyman's role will change. 6 empty netters last year and another 2 or 3 goals credited to him because he was the last one to touch the puck. Johnsson is better in every way aside from perhaps battling along the boards.
Matthews won't play with him anymore and it's only a matter of time before Hyman is either traded, or replaced by Moore, Mikheyev, Aberg, or any other player that can complement that line better.

So in the Boston series, the Bruins accumulated 80% of the rebound offense in the series. I like skill as much as the next guy and personally wished I had a lot more of it. However, having a guy that isn't afraid to muck it up in the corners and go to the net and create havoc is a big boost for those skilled guys, it gives them space to create, and often screens in front to throw the goalie off their game. Hyman does that for Marner and Tavares. Johnsson doesn't. He's a great player and definitely a force offensively but he's small and has trouble getting to the front of the net for rebounds. Steve Simmons is the idiot who started the rumour that Matthews doesn't want to play with certain people and he has zero insider information. He's a goof who wants to sell papers so he speculates and makes stuff up.

Hyman is a very valuable player, if he wants a big contract when his expires, then you trade him but until then, he's something TO needs. Being entirely made up of perimeter players won't work in the playoffs. You need guys that can crash the net, win battles on the boards and create space for those skilled guys. Anyone who disagrees, doesn't play hockey. I do and perhaps I am a little bias because I am one of those muckers, but I know that my teamates appreciate having a guy screening the goalie and winning battles along the boards and occasionally keeping guys honest if they want to rough up a little guy.

I don't disagree that Hyman's attributes are more needed, playoff hockey is a tougher brand and the Leafs looked soft against Boston. But they aren't adding more grinders, they're adding more skill and getting rid of the grinders like Hyman which spawns the narrative that there is a rift between the GM and coach.
Simmons may be bull**** but that article makes a lot of sense. Matthews hasn't been optimally deployed with his carousel of wingers and if Kapanen isn't on his wing next year, there may be some truth to what the article said.
The lineup above makes a lot of sense and considering Hyman is starting the season on IR, he may never see the top six again.

I highly doubt that. As for the statement of TO moving away from grinders. They did bring in Mikheyev who is a big body and has some sand paper, they also signed a bunch of bigger depth guys. Most won't make the team but some will and they will be asked to just go and muck it up. Which is an easy job if you don't mind getting a cross check in the back from time to time. These guys don't have to carry the puck, they have others who do that.

As for Simmons and being right about Kapanen, that is just an educated guess and one that will make him look like he didn't make it all up. Really, Matthews is a shooter, he needs to be given good looks to shoot the puck, Kapanen is also a shooter and almost exclusively a rush player, that doesn't work with Matthews game which is to hold the puck in the zone and move around until he shakes his defender and then scores. Nylander is his perfect linemate because he can stick handle through people, keep the puck alive on the cycle and find Matthews in his sweet spots. So Simmons will be right only because Babs would be an idiot if he keeps Kapanen on Matthews wing, it didn't work. So saying Matthews doesn't want to play with him and appearing to be correct isn't a stretch.

I disagree here. The formula should be

Checker - Skilled C - Speedy Winger

Hyman - Tavares - Marner
Moore - Matthews - Nylander
Johnsson - Kerfoot - Kapanen

And the fourth line, well its the fourth Line, its optional, you have LW checkers in the system ( Wilson, Mikheyev, Engvall, Marchment ) and speedy RW ( Åberg, Petan, Bracco ) to come up still.

My guess is Hyman is lost on Expansion Draft ( 4 x 40 points will be to expensive to resign ), i hope they will pump Morre for two years on the line with Matthews - Nylander creating another 40 pointer and trade him at 2021 TDL where both will be replaced with ppl i noted above and will be on cheap 2 x 750k League minimum.

Hyman type of players will always be needed as important part of Team, even so un-appriciated Empty netters are of the biggest importance for the Game itself. It means the guy grinded the opponent Team so hard, he stripped them of puck and prevented the opponent Team to level the score.

Simmons is a question mark but the logic is there. And Mikheyev is more than a grinder, he led a bad team in scoring and may be able to put up some points on one of the big lines. Maybe he doesn't make the team, who knows.
With Hyman, now, the question is what can he do better than Moore, Aberg, Mikheyev, Petan, etc, at 3 times the price?

Go to the net and score rebounds. Hyman will never be a guy who scores pretty goals, and that is completely fine! He is bigger than Moore and Petan and is one of the best players in the league on the forecheck. Moore gets way too much love by some corners of the fan base, primarily because he caught Chara off balance and hit him. To think Hyman is trash and should be traded because we signed Aberg to a league minimum is a bit of a stretch. As for Petan, he's a small skilled guy who is easily pushed off the puck. I am not a proponent of needing big bruisers, but I do think its important to have a net presence and Hyman is one of the few guys in TO who provides that. Which is why I say he has a place in the top two lines. Until someone more skilled can prove they will do the dirty work that Hyman is so good at, he stays there. Moore and Petan certainly aren't big enough and if Aberg was better or at least as good, he'd not have settled for a league minimum in TO where he may not even earn a spot in the lineup.

I'm not pushing philosophy, just observing the direction Dubas is going. In a perfect world you want as much grit as you can get to go along with the skill, example Boston's #1 line.
Johnsson and Moore are feisty, hustlers but they don't have Hyman's size. They'll put up more points in his spot which is ultimately what I think Dubas cares about the most, the scoreboard.

If Moore doesn't take a step this year or if any of the new depth can't hack it, and Hyman isn't traded, he'll be back on Tavares left presuming Marner finds a pen.

The problem I have with that line lies in having an assist machine in Marner on the right, and no one on the left as an option for him. That line could be far more dangerous with a scoring weapon than a grinder on the lw.

My bias against Hyman began years ago and my hope is someone can displace him and make us all forget Hyman ever played with Matthews or JT. Johnsson is the net front presence you're describing and someone else has to be able to do better than bang in the dozen goals that Hyman does playing with the 2 premier players that he does.

Johnsson is 5'10" and 180 pounds. A 6 foot plus 200 lbs plus player won't have much trouble moving him away from the crease. He's not a guy who scores on rebounds. That is what is needed with both Tavares and Matthews. They are shooters, let them shoot and get someone in front to make it harder for the goalies to see the puck. The Hyman bias needs to stop. Think about it, how many more goals would Matthews score if someone was making it hard for the goalie to see the puck? How many more assists would he get if someone could get close enough to bang home a few or tip some. Johnsson is great and I love him but he's not that type of player and asking him to be that isn't going to work. Put him with Kerfoot and Kapanen and then you have a playmaking centre with two fast defensively responsible wingers and you have a fantastic transition line that can defend well enough if it gets caught out against top competition. I would leave Hyman with JT and put Mikheyev with Matthews and then you have two lines with shooters at centre, playmakers on RW and bigger muckers for in front and the corners. Mikheyev could be more of a skilled guy but he's also not afraid to crash the net.