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Toronto Maple Leafs: The centre problem

By Omar L

Apr 17, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) leads his teammates to the bench after celebrating scoring against Washington Capitals in the first period in game three of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 17, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) leads his teammates to the bench after celebrating scoring against Washington Capitals in the first period in game three of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Mar 26, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Ben Smith (26) warms up before playing against the Boston Bruins at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

How To Fix It?

Similarly to the RHD problem, there are several ways this can be fixed. Many have been looking at what defencemen will be available for the Leafs to take at the draft. It might be beneficial to look at which centremen the Leaf’s could take with the 17th overall pick.

Two in particular are Lias Andersson and Ryan Poehling, who could drop if teams decide to take players below them. Remember, the Oilers had Jesse Puljujärvi fall into their laps last year, after the Columbus Blue Jackets took Pierre Luc-Dubois third overall.

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The Expansion draft could be another opportunity for the Leafs to replenish the cupboards. Again, Toronto is in a very good position come June and can take advantage of teams that will want to get a player for something instead of nothing.

Free agency is another place to look. As it stands now, Ben Smith is Toronto’s fourth line centre (assuming Eric Fehr is claimed). If there are teams that decide not to send qualifying offers to their restricted free agents, the Leafs could take a chance at a few centres and see what they can do.

It’s best not to be picky when addressing an area of need. Getting as many players as possible and seeing who can become a player is what’s important.

Depth wins your team championships. Ask last year’s Pittsburgh Penguins, who had multiple AHLers step into the line-up and contribute.

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If the Leafs want to continue to grow into a powerhouse team, it’s not only the 23-man roster they need to worry about. Injuries can happen at any time, and you want whoever is called up to be able to compete at an NHL level.

However, it would be foolish of anyone to think the organization doesn’t know this. They’ve already started to work on the defensive depth, the centre issue can’t be far behind.

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