The Maple Leafs are betting that a wholly revamped lineup will fix what went wrong, with Auston Matthews entering training camp under new head coach Jim Hiller.
In 60 games last season, Matthews amassed 53 points and 27 goals. His lowest point total since his rookie season was that.
With five power-play goals and a cap impact of $13,250,000, which is the second highest in the whole NHL, he ended up with a minus-4 rating, which is a modest amount.
The season ended on a full spiral for Toronto, who concluded the year with 78 points and a 32-36-14 record, losing the final seven games in a row.
The front office remained motionless. The back end is now anchored by Darren Raddysh, the front line is bolstered by Colton Sissons, Nick Paul, and Teddy Blueger, and Sergei Bobrovsky is in goal.
Before this, Matthews seldom had a bottom six around him that could endure difficult defensive confrontations, but this group provides Hiller with that capability.
Instead of hunting the net, why was a $13 million goal scorer spending so much effort pursuing other teams’ top centers? In the last year, there wasn’t a good response from anybody in Toronto.
Matthews might be unlocked by Darren Raddysh on the power play.
Raddysh scored 22 goals and 70 points last season, with 10 goals and 16 assists on the power play, the kind of shot from the point that Matthews hasn’t received in years.
A genuine bomb from the blue line pulls defenders away from the circle, and that is precisely the area Matthews needs to continue firing one-timers.
Matthew Knies is still the greatest fit to play alongside Matthews. Knies had 66 points in 79 games last season, and that combination should not be broken up in camp.
Jack Roslovic scored 21 goals in 69 games last season, giving Hiller another middle option if he wants to keep Matthews’ line pure offense.
Additionally, Morgan Rielly is still on this blue line, coming off 36 points in 78 games, but the real change on that unit is Raddysh’s half-wall shot.
This is the first full season Matthews has built his top six from scratch without Mitch Marner, who is now with Vegas.
Hiller was hired on June 17, and his rapid commitment to a strong top line will reveal a great deal about Toronto’s expectations for results.
No longer can that $13,250,000 cap hit be concealed. Either Matthews is back to normal, or this front office faces a far bigger problem going into next spring.
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