What to Expect from the Leafs 4th Line

[Darcy Tucker]

Proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence.

 

[Mess]

I expect Leafs 4th line to be ..

Ennis/Leivo/Johnsson/Grundstrom/Jooris -- Pär Lindholm -- Kasperi Kapanen

I expect the biggest training camp battles to be for the 3rd and 4th line LW jobs in camp with Johnsson having the inside track at the moment an the those others to all compete for the 4th line LW role.

Pär Lindholm is a wild card that was signed with the plan to plan him as the 4th line C, but Freddy the goat might give him a battle for that job if Lindholm struggles with NA ice size and style of play early on.

The 4th line RW spot likely is lock in with Kappy unless the plan is to swap Brown and Kappy on the 3rd line RW spot.

Grundstrom is the prospect sleeper to earn a spot and Jooris might surprise because of his style of play and experience particularly on the PK.

 

[Mr Hockey]

I expect our 4th line to play like a legit 3rd line this season. expect all 3 guys to be good PK players and play fast.

 

[Menzinger]

Right now it’s who’s going to play centre and if they’re going to be competent enough at it. But, the leas have the potential to have one of their best fourth lines in recent memory this season

 

[member 262271]

5 minutes of stuff, and things.

 

[Lauro]

Johnsson - Lindholm - Kapanen

 

[Leafslet]

well, they better play under 8 minutes.

 

[BlueForever75]

Johnsson - Lindholm - Kapanen

Personally I think Johnsson and Kapanen on the 4th line is a waste. Those players should be playing in the top 9 that is where they will excel. Both of them should be in top 9 before a Hyman and Brown. Who in my eyes are better suited to 4th line and PK duty.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Impossible to say what I expect since I don't know even one player who will be on the 4th line for sure. What I hope for is about 5-8 minutes of outperforming other 4th lines on a regular basis.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Personally I think Johnsson and Kapanen on the 4th line is a waste. Those players should be playing in the top 9 that is where they will excel. Both of them should be in top 9 before a Hyman and Brown. Who in my eyes are better suited to 4th line and PK duty.

I agree completely. It's time to put Hyman and Brown on the 4th line permanently where their energy can be used sporadically and leave the Johnsson-Kadri-Kapanen 3rd line to wreak havoc on opposing teams with their speed and skill using the extra minutes.

 

[Mr Hockey]

well, they better play under 8 minutes.

8-10 minutes a game, its a long season.

 

[Fogelhund]

We've got incredible depth on the wing, including through the Marlies. We should have a fairly strong fourth line, though it won't be a traditional bang, and bruise, can fight line. It will be another line that has an offensive flair, but two way players. I doubt we sign any further guys, though people such as Shore and Winnick, could be PTO options, and replace Leivo etc... if they outperform by a margin.

We have two contract spots available, and it's my opinion that they are being saved for better options, including upgrades on D.

 

[nsleaf]

The 4th line will be like purgatory to the top nine players.

 

[Caroline Says ll]

I actually wonder if for once in I do not even remember how long the Leafs will actually have a 4th line that can out compete other teams 4th line. A year where no dead weight is played just for the sake of traits that player has that do not reflect any ability on the ice. A year where no player brings the line down just by his being not suitable for the NHL game.

A year without players like Komarov, Gauthier, Smith, and Martin. A year where the GM only gives Babcock players that are suitable for a speed and possession based 4th line.

 

[ANDI P IS CUTE]

so glad we have a GM that refuses to give his coach terrible grunts to play on the 4th line.

this year the 4th line should be a joy to watch, with the likes of Kappy/Leivo/Ennis/Grundstrom on it.

kap isnt a 4th liner lol.

 

[kb]

What is Jay McClement doing these days?

 

[moon111]

Johnsson and Kapanen's NHL career assists combine for the same as the legendary Joakim Lindstrom had in 19 games. Or Ryan Hamilton put up in 12.
Skating fast doesn't mean they have any ability to produce anything other then solo offense.

 

[Battle Lin]

really just be great PKers and dont get scored on much, and i be happy, and pitch in with a goal here and there...but our 4th line is pretty talented for 4th liners, kapanen, leivo and ennis can score 30-40 points on higher lines in the nhl with pp

 

[luvdahattymatty]

JT got 20 minutes/game last year
AT got 19 minutes / game last year AND wants more time this season
NK got 17 minutes / game last year
Folks that leaves at most 4 minutes / game for 4th line so don't expect anything
The reality is no one is getting anything much on 4th line so they must be energy players
Any real talent not on first 3 lines and that can move down to Marlies will likely do so

 

[Battle Lin]

whatever the combination is out of these people, i expect them to be good,

leivo - lindholm - kapanen or johnsson whoever doesnt get the top 3 line
ennis - jooris - grundstrom
_____ - gauthier - _____

these are the people that should be considered and could all play sometime in the season if injuries hit...and imo this is a great group for 4th line and 5th line depth standards

 

[zeke]

kap isnt a 4th liner lol.

none of them are. that's the beauty of it.

 

[zeke]

TBH, we should go with this 4th line:

Johnsson - Matthews - Nylander
Leivo - Tavares - Marner
Grundstrom - Kadri - Kapanen
Hyman - Marleau - Brown​

 

[Slyfox]

We finally have gotten a potential 4th line of skill-skill-skill. Might be the first time in Leafs history where we don't have a gritty 4th line fwd. Our 4th line has been a weakness the past couple of years and we wasted two 2nd picks trying to fix it. So happy Dubas was able to upgrade it immensely as well as get rid of the dead weight (Leo, Martin).

 

[FlareKnight]

I expect the fourth line to exist. They'll get ok minutes during the regular season since might as well not overtax the main guys during the regular season. But when the playoffs come around I'd expect them to barely be there. The talent is so darn good with those top three lines that they should take advantage of it.

 

[Fogelhund]

JT got 20 minutes/game last year
AT got 19 minutes / game last year AND wants more time this season
NK got 17 minutes / game last year
Folks that leaves at most 4 minutes / game for 4th line so don't expect anything
The reality is no one is getting anything much on 4th line so they must be energy players
Any real talent not on first 3 lines and that can move down to Marlies will likely do so

I'm not sure who AT is... but Matthews had 18:08 last year. Kadri had 16:46

With OT, and PP, there is more than 60 minutes per game, and there will be times that these guys will be on the ice at the same time, during the PP.... So, the fourth line is going to be more like 8-10 minutes, even with those guys getting similar time you suggest.