Leafs eye possibility of using four-forward power-play unit
With a new coach comes new systems, and the Toronto Maple Leafs might take a page out of new coach Mike Babcock's former team's power-play book by adopting a four-forward format which worked very well for the Red Wings last season.
Babcock helped the Wings jump from one of the lower-ranked power plays in the league to the second-best power-play squad in the NHL last season by utilizing a four-forward format, and he debuted a similar look with the Maple Leafs in training camp this year.
"I like it," said Toronto forward Nazem Kadri to the Toronto Star. "It’s not the traditional three and two [three forwards, two defenseman]. It definitely brings more offensive potential to the power play, and we all saw Detroit had a No. 1 power play last year."
Detroit also benefited from a crop of talented forwards, including Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar. Toronto does not boast quite the same elite scoring talent, but there are plenty of players on the roster who have real scoring potential.
If nothing else, a new look could serve to simply spark more creativity out of a Leafs' power play which ranked 26 out of 30 NHL teams last season.
(h/t Toronto Star)
