Team: 2019-20 Toronto Maple Leafs

Initial Creation Date: Dec. 4, 2019

Published: Dec. 4, 2019

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

The Leafs have 3 superstar overpaid players who have things to prove. Matthews' defensive issues would suit him better on the wing. Play that line as a #1matchup line and let them prove their worth. Willy and Kappy are best buds and that could work. Furthermore, I feel like Johnsson has some trade value yet he's expendable so I traded him for a pick (any pick) to avoid the short bench situation.

The point of this exercise is to see how the Leafs could look if they structures their lines like other more successful teams (colorado, boston, etc...).

And before people tell me my defensive pairings arent balanced, I did it on purpose. I feel as though Rielly and Barrie are the best 2 defensmen, they should play together and probably not be in the defensive zone too much. I also think Muzzin and Dermott seems like the best options defensively and would play against top lines as a shutdown pair. Sandin is good but young and if paired with Ceci, they might actually find success together in sheltered minutes.

Again, I'm not saying these should definitely be their permanent lines. I'm saying others do it with success and it would be a very interesting experiment. You won't know if you don't try it. As miss Frizzle would say: "it's time to take chances, get messy, make mistakes!"