With two games of the 2024–25 season in the books, the buds of a new-look Leafs team are beginning to emerge. While it is not all good news, see the struggling power play, with Craig Berube and his coaching staff joining Brad Treliving’s vision for the team there are several positives.
There are several ways to put it into words, some of which have been frequently uttered by the Leafs. An increased physicality, a greater forechecking presence, and a willingness to dump and chase are all more evident. Some might call this a more mature style of game, while Berube himself has often referred to it as being more direct. Either way, the Leafs are showing signs of a new identity.
Forechecking and physicality
While these tracked stats from Corey Snzajder represent only one game, a loss to the Montreal Canadiens where the Leafs carried most of the play, there are some numbers we can attach to the Leafs new style. The Leafs gained the zone 66 times, 35 of which did not come from carrying the puck in. Moreover, the Leafs generated chances off these opportunities, with 37 shot attempts coming off of the forecheck or cycle as opposed to just 12 coming off the rush.
Rush chances can be quite high danger, though they can also be more thoroughly defended by high-end teams with tactically precise systems. Come the spring, cycle and forecheck chances are more sustainable and wear down opponents. The most clear visual example of this lies with Steven Lorentz and the alleged fourth line. Lorentz might be the early leader as Berube’s favourite, but in this short stint, he is emblematic of the Leafs personality change.
Especially on Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils, when Bobby McMann joined Lorentz and David Kampf, the Leafs fourth line created havoc on the forecheck. Scoring two of the team’s four goals that night was an obvious feather in their cap, but this forechecking style is exactly the type of forceful and direct play that Berube wants out of this group. Contrasting this against the power play’s long-standing issue of waiting for the perfect play provides a roadmap to better results.
Penalty killing
Sticking with Lorentz, the Leafs new forward has been a regular on the penalty kill, an area that should be a major focus of the team. Once again the focus should be on more sustainable paths to success, a strong penalty kill being a more translatable strength than a strong power play is to spring success. Joining Kampf and fellow centre Pontus Holmberg, Lorentz is entrenching himself into the regular lineup with this role.
On the back, end Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe are the clear top penalty killing options. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Simon Benoit are capable options on the left side, though Ekman-Larsson and McCabe can both play their weak sides as well.
The spiciest trend here is that Conor Timmins has been in the mix. The penalty kill being a priority is clearly a big part of Timmins being in the lineup over Timothy Liljegren. Timmins has had terrible injury luck over his career, but at full health, he is better offensively and defensively than Liljegren has been.
If the Leafs are forced to deal with injuries throughout the season, it is entirely possible that Philippe Myers gets into the lineup before Liljegren for the sake of the penalty kill as well. For either Topi Niemela or Nicholas Mattinen, potential power play options in their own right, a path to playing time will likely be tied to viability as penalty killers.
Blueline
Berube and Treliving seem to align on another topic of change on this roster, assembling a bonafide top four, or rather two solid pairings that can carry most of the load. With Tanev taking his expected spot alongside Morgan Rielly, Ekman-Larsson and McCabe look to be pushing for just as much ice time.
Though it sounds simple this is an ideal fix to an annual issue the Leafs have dealt with. This is a change that should help the Leafs through the spring. Again, Treliving and Berube have applied the same direct approach to improvement that they expect from their players.
The group is better defensively, especially evident in transition. Looking back to the tracked stats against the Canadiens, the Leafs exited their own zone 39 times, 29 of which came with control of the puck. It might be expected of Ekman-Larsson, a reputed offensive defenceman, but this is a big part of what makes Tanev such a good player. On top of being a physical shutdown defenceman, Tanev is a good passer, far closer to the effectiveness of Ekman-Larsson in this area than he is to former Rielly partners Luke Schenn and Ilya Lyubushkin.
Big picture
Putting it all together the Leafs are a more direct, forceful, and mature team in the early stages of the season. While most would agree that this is more conducive to spring success, there might be some fear that this will make for less regular season success. To an extent, fans might bemoan the end of the high-flying offence that has defined the Leafs during the Auston Matthews era.
These concerns are not necessarily true, though. While the regular season success has been consistent, the Leafs have rarely been able to parlay that into ideal playoff matchups. When they have, it was the stifling physicality and defensive play of the Canadiens that outlasted them. With their star players, the Leafs will always be a threat for offence, and so the shared vision of Treliving, Berube, and the coaching staff is necessary for better playoff results.
