It was a big offensive night for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, as they beat the Nashville Predators 7-4. After a stuttered start to the season, it seems like Toronto is on the right track moving forward, of course with things still to work on.

On Wednesday, former Maple Leafs defender Hal Gill joined Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill on Leafs Morning Take to discuss what he saw from the team’s matchup against Nashville and their season so far. The heavyweight defenceman shared he likes that the team is looking tougher, especially on the blue line.

“I just think they’ve had to change their identity a little bit,” Gill said. “I think they’re good on the back end, I like their back end. I think that’s gonna be more playoff-true, you know? I like some of the additions that they’ve made over the years, because I feel like that was the weakness.”

There’s been lots of talk of bringing size to Toronto, and the results of that can be seen just by scanning the roster. This summer, that emphasis was put on the team’s bottom six in particular, and Gill says he likes the new composition they’ve put together, adding size and depth.

“I think they’re probably a better bottom six,” he said. “I think they’re stronger, they’re a little heavier, and they got some young kids. That Cowan kid is fun to watch, huh? He battles, he competes.”

Of course, Cowan is now playing on the top line in the place of Mitch Marner. While the blue line and depth-adds bring toughness this year, there’s been questions about the team’s offence to start the season. Gill said he had those same reservations, but the team put them to bed Tuesday.

“I was looking at who Matthews is gonna play with without Marner,” he said. “Marner kinda puts it on a tee and I think he’s gonna do that with Eichel this year. So I think that was the question I had, but they kinda answered that last night. Matthews was going and making plays, Tavares stepped up, and I think their bottom six played hard.”

A veteran of the game with nearly two decades of NHL experience and a Stanley Cup to his name, Gill knows the importance of stepping up when it counts. The Leafs will look to keep it up on Thursday, set to host the New York Rangers at Scotiabank Arena.