WWYDW: Assigning a role to Young Matt

I wrote a deep dive about the Leafs’ July efforts and while most people got the core point, there were a few debates over specific nuances. Eventually, that derailed into an argument about Matt Martin.

Of course, Martin hasn’t played a single game with the Leafs yet. Heck, we don’t even know where he slots in the lineup. A few people had some curious ideas, with people pegging him on just about every forward line possible.

So here’s my question to you: What line do you place him on? Do you attempt to put him in a scoring role in hopes that he can somehow become the next Leo Komarov? Do you have him continue his role as a shutdown forechecker? Do you put him with whoever other teams are targeting on the fly and say “eliminate them before they eliminate your teammate”?

I’ve got him pegged in the middle-most role, serving as a good soldier on a more offensively-tuned bottom six line. I think pure grinder lines like the one he was on in Brooklyn are going out of style, but the role of a disruptor, especially if they can keep up with the play once they attempt to recover the puck is useful if executed well. But I want some of your thoughts. Leave them in the comments below!