The Toronto Maple Leafs may or may not have defeated the Boston Bruins last night, but regardless of the result, they are facing a major issue.
Auston Matthews’ injury is a significant problem for the Leafs, and replacing him is nearly impossible, but the real concern is how much the team’s depth has been exposed.
Before Matthews’ injury, the Leafs had their issues, but a lot of those could be overlooked with one of the best centre combinations in the NHL. Having Matthews and John Tavares as the 1-2 punch up the middle made many other problems less glaring.
But when Max Domi has to step in as your top centre, it’s clear that the depth is a serious concern.
Matthews’ injury has highlighted the Leafs’ lack of depth at centre. It’s possible that Domi had a strong performance last night, partly because Mitch Marner often excels when he’s the focal point of his line, but this doesn’t change the fact that the team faces a long-term issue.
When Matthews is healthy, the Leafs have one of the league’s top 1C options, and Tavares is an elite 2C, so the Leafs are generally in good shape at the top. But the bottom six is lacking, and there’s no one capable of stepping up to fill in for Matthews or Tavares if either were to go down for an extended period.
Currently, with Matthews sidelined, the Leafs are relying on Domi at 3C and David Kampf at 4C. Domi requires a lot of support to be effective, and because the new coach seems to lack trust in Kampf, the team is facing a familiar issue: top players are being forced into difficult minutes, there’s no reliable shutdown line, and scoring depth is still a problem.
With a lineup of Domi, Tavares, Holmberg, and Kampf filling the centre positions in Matthews’ absence, the Leafs have one of the weakest centre corps in the league.
Having to use Domi as a 1C is almost comical and should prompt management to take action—no team can contend for a Stanley Cup with this kind of centre depth.
On the positive side, with Matthews out of the lineup, the team might be forced to rely more on other players in key situations, such as penalty killing and defensive-zone draws. Hopefully, this gives someone an opportunity to earn more trust, so that when Matthews is back, he won’t be overburdened with tough minutes.
It might be wise for Matthews to take as much time as he needs to recover, but if the Leafs don’t address their roster’s weaknesses, it won’t matter whether Matthews is healthy or not—two centres won’t be enough to win a Stanley Cup.