Toronto Maple Leafs’ hidden strength key to sustained success

Credit: Noel Acciari and Alex Kerfoot (© Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports)

This article was written by Mira Posluns, who is part of the Professional Hockey Writers Association x To Hockey With Love Mentorship Program. This program pairs aspiring writers with established members of the association across North America to create opportunities for marginalized people that do not traditionally get published on larger platforms covering hockey.

To Hockey With Love is a weekly newsletter covering a range of topics in hockey – from the scandals of the week to providing a critical analysis of the sport.

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It’s a known fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs spend 75 per cent of their forward cap space on their “core four.” The real question is how do they manage to have a solid bottom two lines for just over the price they spend on Auston Matthews alone?

The Leafs might have a famous core four but their hidden strength comes from their bottom six, who only make around $12-13 million depending on the daily lineup.

One player who has made himself indispensable to the team is Alexander Kerfoot, a bottom-six forward who’s had success with whatever mashup of players he’s put with.

“I think it’s just about knowing your linemates, knowing what they do and being able to lean into that a little bit more,” said Kerfoot about filling spots on so many different lines.

“If you’re playing with shooters, try to give them pucks in the right spot, and if you’re playing with guys who like to go in on the forecheck, chip a couple more pucks in.”

Whatever the situation is, Kerfoot knows how to make himself and his linemates successful, especially on the checking line and penalty kill.

That hasn’t always been the case though. When Kerfoot arrived to the Leafs from Colorado, he wasn’t a defensive forward.

“When I was in Colorado I played more of an offensive role,” said Kerfoot. “Here it’s kind of been a complete 180. With so many skilled guys here, I haven’t been in as many offensive situations but I’ve come to appreciate the defensive side of the game and being responsible at that end.”

The Leafs have done an outstanding job finding players to fill the roles they need for not very much money. It’s the most important part of their success, especially on streaks when their top players are having trouble and aren’t producing the way they’re expected to.

In the bottom six apart from Kerfoot, David Kampf has been a strong third or fourth line center for the Leafs for a couple of years, for only $1.5 million a year. He’s played consistently on the penalty kill and even went on a short scoring streak with three goals in six games this season, between Feb. 18 and March 1.

Though the numbers are only slight, the Leafs have also managed to increase their penalty kill percentage from where they fell to in the 2018-19 season, no doubt thanks to their increase in substantial depth, acquiring Kerfoot and Kampf.

Without these players, the Leafs also wouldn’t be able to make the trade deadline moves that set them up for success in the playoffs. Thanks to their inexpensive bottom six, they were able to make important trades at the deadline, like acquiring Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari, while trading away very few players to make room.

“It’s been really nice,” said Zach Aston-Reese, a consistent Leafs fourth-liner. “Noel Acciari is a guy that’s been in a fourth-line role for a long time and he’s been really good at it. He’s got a ton of points and had good run with Boston and Florida so it’s definitely exciting.”

The Leafs won’t be able to keep this up for long though. Almost all of their forward depth and strong penalty killers will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, with expanded resumes and skill sets after their time with the team.

The Leafs won’t have the space to pay Kerfoot more than his current salary of $3.5 million next year while they still have their core four and there are certainly other teams who are going to make better offers to such a valuable two-way player.

While re-signing Kerfoot and Kampf would be the best option, the Leafs are bound to be looking around the league for someone to rise up and fill their roles for less money.

Right from their own backyard, the Leafs could bring up Pontus Holmberg, a pending RFA who’s currently making $827,500 on a two-way contract. He would be much easier to sign and negotiate with as an RFA and certainly has emerging skill.

Holmberg had 13 points in 37 games with the Leafs this season before being reassigned to the Toronto Marlies after the big St. Louis trade and was relatively strong as their fourth-line center. He also had some special team success, scoring a goal on the power play against the Arizona Coyotes, even with his limited power play minutes.

The 2018 Leafs draft pick has even stepped up to center Kerfoot and since-traded Pierre Engvall a couple of times when lines were mixed around, adjusting well to playing with a new fourth line very often, just like Kerfoot and Kampf.

The Leafs could also be looking towards the KHL at this point, which they’ve had success with in the past. Their last major KHL signing resulted in acquiring Ilya Mikheyev, who was a very successful depth forward for the team despite being held back due to injury.

One KHL player that Corey Pronman, The Athletic’s senior NHL prospects writer, thinks has a chance to sign with an NHL team is Konstantin Okulov.

Okulov is a winger who’s been contributing to the success of CSKA Moscow for the past six seasons and is according to Pronman a rumoured NHL target who may be of interest to the Leafs.

“The Leafs are a big market club that aggressively recruit those types,” said Pronman. “You see Dubas often fly to Europe to recruit in person. And due to limited draft capital they have roster spots to market.”

Okulov wouldn’t be able to replace Kampf in the centre role but he could be an addition to a third or fourth line with a good shot.

Whatever happens, the Leafs won’t survive their cold streaks without the strong and inexpensive bottom six that they’ve managed to maintain for the past few attempted playoff runs.

For John Tavares, the Maple Leafs captain and a part of the “core four,” being supported by the bottom two lines is a big part of succeeding in the playoffs.

“For teams that win the Stanley cup or have a lot of success, depth is a massive part of it,” said Tavares, who plays on the top two Leafs lines. “They don’t always get the headlines or the amount of attention that maybe other lines or other players do but their roles are just as important.”

He also noted how important it is that the bottom six get recognized for their work by the rest of the team.

“Everyone contributes in their own way and it’s important [to] make those guys feel that those roles are just as valuable as [others] and how important they are to the team, and they are as big of a part of winning as everybody else,” said Tavares.

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Toronto Maple Leafs’ hidden strength key to sustained success

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