Toronto Maple Leafs Make Shock Lineup Change Ahead Of A Meeting With The Undefeated Winnipeg Jets

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Tom Banks
October 28, 2024 (2:33 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have dropped three games in a row, and ahead of a clash with the 8-0-0 Winnipeg Jets, they appear to be scratching Nick Robertson.

After a solid start to the 2024/25 campaign, the Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled in recent times, with three straight defeats making them one of five teams in the Atlantic Division with a 4-4-1 record on the season. While things improved last time out before a disastrous turnover from Auston Matthews saw them drop a crucial game to the Bruins, they now face their toughest test of the season against the 8-0-0 Winnipeg Jets.

Surprisingly however, it appears they are making a big change to the lineup ahead of this matchup, with young forward Nick Robertson to come out of the group with Pontus Holmberg skating in his position on the third line.

In nine games this season, Robertson has tallied just one goal, and while plenty is being made about the slow start of Auston Matthews, the bottom-six has been absolutely dreadful to this point, producing almost no impact for this team. Robertson isn't the only player to blame, but with Bobby McMann producing 4 points in 8 games on the other side, Robertson became the obvious choice to come out of the lineup.

This isn't the only change however, as Toronto have moved John Tavares back to the second line in place of Max Domi, with several new experiments from early in the year coming to an end as they now push a veteran heavy line of Max Pacioretty-John Tavares-William Nylander. Craig Berube has put an emphasis on switching up the power play as well, splitting up the famed Core Four with Nylander and Tavares making their way to PP2 while Max Pacioretty and Matthew Knies make up the rest of PP1.

In recent years, Toronto have been very slow starters, but in 2024/25 it appears to be different, and now they will look to see if these surprise changes can lead to an upset win over the red-hot Winnipeg Jets as they look to avoid four straight losses.