Toronto Maple Leafs: New lines show Mike Babcock is willing to adapt

The most recent lineup changes that Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock has made shows his willingness to adapt.

When the Toronto Maple Leafs returned to practice from the All-Star break, people were expecting to see Mike Babcock go back to the old lineup with the New York Islanders, but that was not the case.

Considering how the Leafs performed the past two games it would have been hard to justify making the switch, given how poorly the team was playing since the beginning of December.

After practice on Tuesday, Babcock did not hold back on what he wants this team to do in order to be successful. Toronto Sun reporter Terry Koshan wrote about how the Leafs want to be a team that uses their speed to dictate the pace of play, rather than stand around and get caught puck watching.

While many were looking at Leo Komarov being moved to the fourth line with Mitch Marner taking his place, seeing Matt Martin sitting out for a third straight game for Kasperi Kapanen is a bigger testament to what Babcock wants to accomplish.

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The fourth line was not being used in a way that made sense for the Leafs,they wanted a more physical presence with Martin and Frederik Gauthier to wear down teams and not be a liability defensively. Unfortunately, opposing teams were able to keep them hemmed in their own end and putting more of an emphasis on shutting down the Leafs other lines.

Now the tam can employ a fourth line that has more defensively responsible players with an extra element of speed that Kapanen brings and the threat to do something on offence.

The added benefit is the new found chemistry with Marner, Nazem Kadri and Patrick Marleau. The depth of scoring on that line alone should open up more opportunities not only for themselves but for the other lines. Babcock is finally loosening his grip and allowing his forward depth to continue to be the strength of the team.

What to do with injured defencemen returning

On defence things get a bit more complicated. Now there are people who will be happy to see that Roman Polak skated as the extra defenceman in practice. Where there will be a lot of debate is what happens when Morgan Rielly and Nikita Zaitsev return.

At the moment this is how the defensive pairings would look, based on what was seen at practice.

So not only does Travis Dermott get to play with Zaitsev, but Jake Gardiner and Ron Hainsey remain together and until Rielly is back it makes sense. Gardiner seems more comfortable with Hainsey’s veteran presence and Dermott has provided a much-needed spark and deserves to be playing.

Once Rielly comes back there are two options to be considered. Does he go back with Hainsey or does he play with Zaitsev? Babcock will probably want Rielly and Hainsey together given how well they have played next to each other.

At the same time, if Dermott and Zaitsev play well together maybe the team considers playing Gardiner with Connor Carrick, like they have in the past. It is nice to know the Leafs defence will have options but Babcock will need to find the right ones, especially going into the playoffs.

Next: 4 questions to answer coming out of All-Star Break

What do you think the right approach is for the Leafs’ blueline? Are the changes to the forward lines here to stay? Let us know in the comments.