Without Joe Thornton, how should Sheldon Keefe set Toronto’s lines?

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ start to the season has been vanilla. Three wins and two losses places Toronto third in the North Division after five games, with the Leafs’ goal differential balanced on zero.

Sheldon Keefe, supported by GM Kyle Dubas, started the season boldly, installing veteran forward Joe Thornton on Toronto’s top line. Initially, the experiment seemed to have legs, the Thornton – Auston Mathews – Mitch Marner unit showed flickers of excellence in victories over Montreal and Ottawa.

However, Keefe’s plans came unstuck on Wednesday night against the Oilers, who surged to a 3-1 win over Toronto at the Scotiabank Arena. 41-year-old Thornton was maligned in the third minute of the final period, taking a hit from Josh Archibald along the board. The contact ended Thornton’s night, leaving the bench hunched over in pain.

“Looks like he’s definitely gonna miss some time here with us,” Keefe told reporters following Toronto’s defeat. “We don’t know the extent of it but he’s gonna have to get more tests and images and stuff like that later this week.”

It has since emerged that Thornton has fractured a rib, meaning he will miss a month of hockey.

The London, Ontario-native’s absence is a blow for Toronto on many counts. First, Thornton is already popular with his young line-mates, his presence will be missed. Second, Keefe’s set-up is contingent upon the 41-year-old’s involvement. Finally, Toronto’s cap machinations could once again reappear.

Until his injury, Thornton had spent more time on ice for Toronto than anyone had anticipated before his arrival. Against Edmonton, Thornton registered 13:25 of ice time, most of it spent in the offensive zone. Taking Thornton out of the equation leaves a significant whole in Keefe’s plans, worsened by the fact Matthews (five points) and Marner (six points) have played well by his side.

Speaking of which, the Leafs need to find a new way to assemble their offensive puzzle pieces.

Possible Line-Up:

The idea of moving Wayne Simmonds or Jason Spezza up the roster is unappealing, and, with Nick Robertson also sidelined, that just about limits Keefe’s pool to one. Zach Hyman is destined for first unit minutes, which has bold ramifications on the rest of the roster.

Moving the ’92-born forward onto the top line would dismantle Keefe’s Ilya Mikheyev – Alex Kerfoot – Hyman offensive checking unit with immediate effect. With the Leaf’s current third line up in smoke, it is clear that a rest is coming in Toronto.

If Keefe opts to move Hyman up, the Leafs could look something like this over the weeks ahead:

Hyman — Matthews — Marner
Nylander —Tavares — Mikheyev
Vesey — Kerfoot —Simmonds
Barabanov — Spezza — Boyd

Captain Tavares would likely be the most adversely affected player if such an approach was to be implemented. The Tavares line has been eating sheltered minutes since the start of the campaign, and the former New York Islander has enjoyed the experience.

Through five games, the Mississauga born centre has registered six points and seems to have gained a stride of pace during the off-season. You can question whether an $11m forward should be sheltered or not, but removing Tavares’ protection will undoubtedly slow his production.

Pierre Engvall, a constant source of frustration to Keefe’s coaching staff, is also in contention to feature on the third line, especially given his status as the most senior member of the taxi squad – minus Boyd.

For a season that has chaos baked-in, the start of the 2021 campaign has thrown up a number of puzzling situations for management in Toronto. Losing Thornton is a significant stumbling block for Toronto, especially in a season so condensed. But if the Maple Leafs are to be contenders in 2021, this is a problem Keefe simply has to solve.