Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka has turned his roster on its head this offseason, making multiple moves to reconstruct the balance of talent throughout Toronto’s lineup. Now, it’s on head coach Jim Hiller’s shoulders to ensure he can take advantage of its versatility, while also ensuring to properly create chemistry on all four forward lines.

Last season was an absolute disaster year for the Maple Leafs. Major injuries, underperformance throughout the entire lineup, and a head coach in Craig Berube, who didn’t feel like sticking with lineup combinations one bit. Berube was frequently changing up lines game by game, and even shift by shift mid-game, and one of the biggest reasons the Leafs weren’t successful last season was the fact the team lacked chemistry. It felt like the lineup was regularly put into a blender and Berube would just fly by the sit of his pants hoping it works. It wasn’t a recipe for success, and looking ahead to this season, it’s on Hiller to get this right. The Leafs are entering a two-year win-now window, and it’s obvious based on the contracts Chayka handed out, the Leafs will be going for it, as captain Auston Matthews only has two years left on his contract.

Heading into next season, the Leafs have Matthews down the middle of the top line, while it’s very likely, at least as the roster stands right now, that Matthew Knies and Gavin McKenna start on his wings. Knies and Matthews have played together a ton, they train a lot together in the offseason, and one of Berube’s biggest mistakes last season was splitting these two up. Add in the facilitation ability of McKenna and his unbelievable vision, and hockey IQ, and this trio could be as effective as any in the league. The wrinkle here is the fact Hiller could play Jack Roslovic on Matthews’ right side and give the Leafs’ captain a right-handed shot to balance out the line, while playing Matthews with Roslovic, someone he’s known for over a decade. Roslovic will be the Leafs Swiss army knife, so it’s going to be interesting to see how Hiller manages his minutes.

The second line is very likely centered by John Tavares, and you can ink in William Nylander on the right side, and again, some options will present themselves for the left wing slot. Max Domi is battling surgery complications, and it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be available for a while. So, he’s not an option, and frankly shouldn’t be playing this high up in the lineup anyways. Easton Cowan proved to the organization he has a future in an NHL top six, and with his Calder Cup Playoff run right in front of Chayka, I’d expect to see Cowan provided a chance to start in Toronto’s top six next season. A trio that played together in spurts last season and with Cowan’s development, could really flourish next season, at both ends of the rink.

The bottom six is especially where Hiller’s going to need to be mindful of chemistry. Shut-down lines take time to develop and it’s important to be consistent with their minutes together to allow them to build familiarity. There’s a lot of new faces in the Leafs lineup heading into next season and they’ll need the repetition to create meaningful chemistry that helps allow players to play the team’s structure properly, which then in turn leads to better results.

This is where Roslovic could play a major role. If he’s not on Matthews’ right side on the top line, he’s likely going to play a major part on the third line, at either the wing, or down the middle of the ice. Roslovic played mostly on the wing for the Oilers last season, but certainly filled in at centre, when needed. He went 142/268 last season on the draw, for 53%, which was done slightly from his usage as a centre for the Carolina Hurricanes the season prior. Roslovic’s likely to take some faceoffs on his strong side regardless of where he’s slotted in the lineup.

Nick Paul is the favourite to start centering the third line next season, and this is a nice upgrade for Chayka’s lineup over the options that presented themselves last season. Paul plays an in-your-face game, he’s a proven winner, and he’s bringing the passion back to his hometown team, so, he could quickly emerge as the Maple Leafs’ X-factor next season. Paul can also play the wing, and his versatility was one of many attributes that appealed to Chayka in the first place.

The versatility will be on full display in the bottom six, because outside of Dakota Joshua, the Leafs have multiple players who could play either wing, while also filling in at center. Along with Paul and Roslovic, newcomers Colton Sissons and Teddy Blueger bring the same toolbox to the team. Defensive minded, strong in their own zone, willingness to muck it up in the dirty areas of the ice, and truly, very tough players to play against. Physical, hardnosed, and versatile, both great additions for the Leafs.

Add in Steven Lorentz and signees Brandon Duhaime and Zack MacEwen, and the Leafs have options, and lots of them for lineup construction. Training camp and the preseason are going to be vital for the Leafs to come out of with some structure. There’s plenty of new faces so Hiller will need to be mindful to create as much chemistry as possible, and assign roles as soon as possible, so everyone gets a good sense of where they stand in the lineup, and what’s expected of them from the organization. Yes, injuries can turn everything on its head, but out of the gates, Hiller needs to do whatever he can to focus on camaraderie and role designation.

Hiller’s structure is going to be built on being defensively sound, not cheating on positioning and puck management, while also pouncing on opportunities to counterattack off turnovers. He’ll be focused on trying to implement the structure in camp, but he’ll also need to be laser-focused on building chemistry and familiarity. There’s been way too many times over the last year, or even two, where each game the lineup was drastically different, which doesn’t result in maximizing production.

Chayka’s vision is very clear, he wants to win, and as soon as possible. Now, it’s on Hiller to properly construct his lineup, and build a strong, cohesive foundation.