Whether they are together or apart, this debate has taken place every season across three different coaches. We have watched the main characters of this story for so long now, but I’m not sure the dynamics are always framed correctly.
Let’s start with the simple facts regarding the possible combinations of Matthews, Marner, Nylander, and Tavares.
The Matthews-Marner duo
First and foremost, the best possible combination the Leafs can assemble is pairing Matthews and Marner together. There should really be no debate about this; at least in the regular season, there is no real argument against it.