Maple Leafs Coach Drops Blunt Take on 'Core Four' Era Following Mitch Marner’s Exit

“Listen, he touched all areas of the game for us — penalty kill, power play, five on five. He’s a guy that’s hard to replace. You’re not replacing him,” Berube told The Athletic's Jonas Siegel. “But we brought in three new players — (NIcolas) Roy, (Dakota) Joshua and (Matias) Maccelli, all sorta different types of players — but I feel like we’re probably a deeper team, bringing in the three guys.”

Berube pointed to the increased size and grit added by the additions of both Roy and Joshua and to the playmaking upside Maccelli will bring to Toronto.

“We added size to our team and some heaviness, but also we added a pretty good playmaker that has some real upside,” Berube said.

Berube's comments suggest the Leafs will lean on depth and balance rather than trying to fill Marner’s spot directly with a one-for-one replacement.

Berube confirmed Matthews and Matthew Knies will stay together on the top line, but acknowledged the vacancy at right wing will be decided through camp competition.

“It’s about trying some people at camp, for sure,” Berube said. “That’s the route you gotta go and see what looks good and what fits.”

One possibility to fill the right-wing hole is using Max Domi, who has played with Matthews in the past, on that position. For that to happen, however, Domi will need to clear some injury issues, as, according to Leafs general manager Brad Treliving, the winger will be sidelined day-to-day with a lower-body injury at the start of camp.

“We’ll see how he is tomorrow,” Treliving said. “We anticipate he’s probably not going to start full tomorrow, but hopefully shortly thereafter, he will be good to go.”