Berube Making Key Choices with Maple Leafs’ Special Teams

As the new NHL season kicks off, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ special teams performance is crucial to the team’s play. While the power play remains unchanged, the penalty kill is seeing some shifts in personnel. New head coach Berube is giving three players lots of short-handed minutes this season. Pontus Holmberg (6:55 TOI), Steven Lorentz (6:28 TOI), and Mitch Marner (5:01 TOI) have logged the most ice time among forwards on the penalty kill (PK).

Berube’s decisions on time on ice (TOI) offer insight into how he plans to utilize his roster moving forward. Let’s look at the numbers and what they tell us about the team’s strategy.

Maple Leafs Power Play: Same Setup, Same Struggles

At this point in the season, there’s little to analyze about the Maple Leafs’ power play. The top unit remains unchanged from last year, featuring the usual core of stars. However, the same struggles that plagued them last season seem to have continued. Despite the consistency in personnel, the power play hasn’t yet found its groove. Auston Matthews, so far, has been held pointless.

While the power play systems haven’t changed significantly, the situation bears watching. Should the team continue to underperform on the power play, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Berube experiment with adjustments or add new faces to the top unit.

Penalty Kill: Holmberg and Lorentz Emerging as Key Forwards

On the other hand, the penalty kill is where Berube’s tactical shifts are more apparent. As noted, Holmberg and Lorentz have logged the most ice time among forwards on the PK. This is a noticeable change from last season when David Kämpf, Marner, and William Nylander led the way. Calle Järnkrok got the fourth most ice time on the PK.

Nylander’s spot on the PK seems to have been taken over by Matthews this season, signaling a shift in Berube’s approach. Holmberg and Lorentz, in particular, have been given more prominent roles. Does this make Kämpf and Järnkrok expendable, considering their higher cap hits compared to Holmberg and Lorentz? If these two younger players can prove themselves on the penalty kill, it might lead to changes in Toronto’s roster construction as the season progresses.

On defense, the top three players in TOI are Morgan Rielly (44:18), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (41:19), and Jake McCabe (41:42). Rielly’s average TOI is down slightly from last season (from 23:44 to 22:09 per game). However, Ekman-Larsson has taken on a more significant role, stepping into the spot previously held by T.J. Brodie. McCabe, who ranked third last season, has maintained almost identical playing time this season.

Interestingly, Chris Tanev, paired with Rielly, ranks fourth in ice time at 40:07. Some analysts might expect Tanev to be higher on the list. However, Berube appears to be spreading the minutes among his defensive corps, with no single player dominating the stat sheet.

At the bottom of the ice-time rankings, Simon Benoit (30:18) and Conor Timmins (31:06) have been playing their expected roles on the third pair. This isn’t a surprise, as Benoit and Timothy Liljegren were the most frequently used third-pairing defensemen last season.

Unsurprisingly, Morgan Rielly leads the team in power-play ice time (6:58). However, Ekman-Larsson is close behind with 5:01. Last season, Liljegren played the second-most power-play minutes among defensemen. With Liljegren sitting, Ekman-Larsson’s role in the offensive zone has increased this year.

On the penalty kill, Tanev is the clear leader with 9:52, followed by McCabe (8:40) and Benoit (5:54). What’s notable here is that Berube is willing to use all six defensemen on the PK. Timmins logged 5:22 and Ekman-Larsson 2:55. Rielly has the least time on the penalty kill with just 1:10. This balanced approach contrasts with last season, where Brodie, McCabe, and Mark Giordano were the top penalty killers.

Berube’s Strategic Shifts Worth Watching

As the Maple Leafs’ season unfolds, head coach Berube is experimenting with familiar and new faces on special teams. While the power play remains steady but stagnant, the penalty kill has seen emerging talent like Holmberg and Lorentz take on critical roles. Does this hint at future roster decisions? Ekman-Larsson has stepped up on defense, while Berube’s use of all six defensemen on the penalty kill suggests a more flexible approach to managing ice time.

It will be interesting to see if these trends continue and how the players adapt to their roles.

Related: The Good, Bad, & Ugly in the Maple Leafs’ 4-2 Win Over Devils