Projecting the Toronto Maple Leafs' Opening Night Roster

We're now less than three weeks from the start of the NHL season. Teams are finalizing their rosters and signing their RFAs, and players are beginning their training camps and gearing up for pre-season action. The Maples Leafs had an unceremonious end to their season last year and proceeded to lose some key players in free agency. Given the Leafs' cap situation, replacing these players has been a difficult process, and as such Toronto is heading into the season counting on either a bounceback or breakout season from players at a few positions to make their roster complete. Add to that the fact that, as of right now, the team's star forward Auston Matthews may not be healthy for the start of the season, although his goal is still to be on the ice for opening night. With all that said, there are a lot of questions in Toronto heading into the start of the regular season. Their roster remains in flux, but let's see what the most likely lineup looks like, starting with the forwards:

Nick Ritchie - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner

Michael Bunting - John Tavares - William Nylander

Nick Robertson - Alexander Kerfoot - Pierre Engvall

Ilya Mikheyev - Jason Spezza - Wayne Simmonds

Ondrej Kase

David Kampf

Michael Amadio

We're going to assume for now that Matthews recovers as expected and is ready for game 1. Nick Ritchie is probably the first choice for who is going to replace Zach Hyman on their top line, although Ritchie hasn't yet shown he can be a top 6 player in the NHL. Should he fail to solidify that spot, next up is likely Michael Bunting, followed by Ondrej Kase. Then, should these options be exhausted, the Leafs will turn to their rookies and give Nick Robertson a look on that line. The top LW spot is wide open, and any number of players will have to opportunity to claim it. Outside of the left-wing, the majority of the Leafs' forward group remains unchanged, with most of the new faces being signed to cheap contracts and likely to spend the year battling their way into the lineup rather than having a spot set aside for them.

On defence, the Leafs are bringing back the same group as last year, but will be looking for a young player to step up in case they lose some key players in next summer's free agency period:

Morgan Rielly - T.J. Brodie

Jake Muzzin - Justin Holl

Rasmus Sandin - Travis Dermott

Timothy Liljegren

Alex Biega

Brennan Menell

This group of defenders is the same one that led the Leafs to a North Division title last season, which should indicate that there isn't a ton missing from this group. The top 4 is solid, the bottom pair is made up of young prospects working their way up the lineup. The concern comes from the impending contract talks with Morgan Rielly. Odds are the Leafs won't be able to afford to pay Rielly what he asks for next summer. As such, they will be looking for players like Sandin and Liljegren to take a step forward in their development, either to eventually claim that top spot come next season or to at least show they can handle second-pair minutes so that Muzzin can be moved up. This consideration will be the biggest cause of changes in the Leafs' defensive lineup this season outside of injuries. Sandin and Liljegren could ease the minds of a lot of Toronto fans with some strong play this year.

In net, the Maple Leafs said goodbye to a longtime starter this past summer, bringing in an NHL veteran to take his place:

Jack Campbell

Petr Mrazek

Michael Hutchinson

The duo of Campbell and Mrazek is about as good as what the Leafs had with Campbell and Andersen last season. Mrazek has slightly worse career numbers than Andersen overall, but has a slightly better track record in terms of his injury history. Since Campbell has decisively won the starter's crease with his play in 2021, Mrazek is a more-than-suitable 1B netminder. Should the injury bug strike, Michael Hutchinson has shown he can play well in small stints, having already done so on a few occasions last season in Toronto.

What do you think of this Maple Leafs' lineup, and what would you change?

Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports