Nick Paul was an interesting addition by the Toronto Maple Leafs. For a team that was already bringing in Colton Sissons and Teddy Blueger, giving up a pair of draft picks and Dennis Hildeby to add another bottom-six forward was an interesting choice, especially when the Lightning were able to replace (upgrade on?) Paul easily with Ilya Mikheyev.

The need for Nick Paul in the Maple Leafs‘ lineup seems to be versatility. Ignore the decline in offence last season, and Paul’s numbers are far more aligned to being a 30-40 point player (Max Domi/Matias Maccelli/Nick Robertson type numbers). He’s a middle six offensive talent with size. His defensive acumen has been overstated, but he is versatile with size. Not a bad pickup for the Maple Leafs.

The question with Paul is whether he’s a better fit on the wing alongside John Tavares or whether he’s the size up the middle the Maple Leafs coveted.

Nick Paul slotting into a Knies-lite type role on the second line makes some sense. Paul with Tavares and Nylander makes the line a little better defensively and physically. Paul easily keeps up offensively with the linemates that Tavares and Nylander worked with as well.

In contrast, the Leafs could use a third line, and Paul might be the right guy to anchor that as opposed to someone like Sissons. Putting Sissons on the line might carry some advantages, as the line would have a player capable of matching right-handed or left-handed faceoffs as required. Alongside a player like Easton Cowan or Gavin McKenna, there is still an offensive outlet, not just a checking line, the most likely scenario being Cowan.

Paul’s utilization on Jon Cooper’s Lightning serves as a template for what could work.

The playoffs provide the best insight into where Cooper ideally had Paul. He played the majority of the playoffs alongside Yanni Gourde and Zemgus Girgensons. The playoffs are a different beast, but that is a physical shutdown line with some offensive upside. The line didn’t score but only allowed one goal in their time together during Tampa’s early exit.

Oliver Bjorkstrand was Paul’s most common linemate during the regular season, when Paul bounced around a lot. Paul was on with Bjorkstrand for almost 50% of his 5v5 ice time. Jake Guentzel and Gage Gonclaves were Paul’s next most common linemates, and show the versatility Paul was used in, scoring and checking, respectively.

The trend continues back to previous seasons as well, where Paul played with everyone a little. Hagel was his most frequent linemate in 2024-25, Stamkos in 2023-24, but neither exceeded 40% of Paul’s 5v5 ice time together.

Paul will be another Kerfoot/Domi/Jarnkrok line shuffler, and perhaps finding the perfect fit for him isn’t the right approach. He’ll be a player that shows up on the top line when the coach wants to send a message and slide down to the fourth line if things are going well and the team is deep.

Paul’s best results came with Brandon Hagel. The Leafs putting either Cowan or Knies with Paul might be the best alternative. And Paul’s time spent playing with Guentzel might make him a fit for playing with either Nylander or McKenna as well, given their playmaking and puck-carrying skillsets.

Down the roster, if the Maple Leafs want to utilize Paul as a checking forward, he’s a pretty safe bet with anyone, but Sissons and Duhaime seem like the most likely candidates for playing time.

The Leafs will have plenty of moving pieces this season, and Paul will likely help the lineup card always look purposeful.

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