Leafs looking for players to stand up for themselves in absence of Simmonds and Clifford

Given the demotions of Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford, it would seem that Kyle Dubas has looked at his superior and thought that it was time his players started to stand up for themselves too. Many people think that being a tough team to play against means having tough guys in your lineup that crash and bang and fight, but in today's NHL, it's more valuable to have players that can crash and bang and kill penalties or contribute in other ways in your lineup. Similar to how the Leafs' fourth line is now constructed.

David Kampf, Nicholas Aube-Kubel and Zach Aston-Reese are defensively responsible, can grind teams down in the offensive zone, prevent scoring chances in the defensive zone, kill penalties and can definitely crash and bang. Their first shift of the season together in Montreal the trio threw 4 hits on Habs' defenders in a matter of 10-15 seconds. Last night, Aube-Kubel led the Leafs with 6 hits and second to him was Auston Matthews and Rasmus Sandin with 5.

Keefe preached being more physical near the end of last season and continued that message during the preseason this year and when everyone buys in, it's effective and makes every line of the Leafs tougher to play against. Not only does it make every line tougher to play against, but it shows their opponent that they won't back down from physical play and are more than capable of standing up for themselves, which is something the Leafs have struggled with in the past.

There will obviously be times and games where players like Clifford and/or Simmonds will be needed, but the Marlies are a quick trip down the QEW and they can call them up if they feel the need to, but the way the current team is constructed, there is a greater team toughness. There will certainly be a learning curve, especially for players like William Nylander and Mitch Marner, but nobody is expecting them to drop the gloves. Not backing down is what the Leafs are after.