This being Toronto, however, much scrutiny has been placed on the fourth line and the center position, in particular. Mike Babcock has tried out a revolving door of players in the middle of his fourth line and the organization has forked over assets via trade in an attempt to fill the spot at both the 2017 and 2018 deadlines.
Down the stretch of the 2018-19 season, after Kyle Dubas left the position unaddressed at the deadline — he actually weakened the team’s NHL center depth by flipping Par Lindholm for Nic Petan, who Mike Babcock didn’t like as a center — the 4C role remained a talking point through the playoffs and into the offseason.