However, with the acquisition of hulking centre Brian Boyle, that need is no longer there. Boyle can provide the veteran leadership Martin was initially brought in to bring. Boyle has more playoff games under his belt than most of the NHL. As the Toronto Maple Leafs begin to solidify their playoff spot, he’ll be more valuable to the team as the rookies can turn to him for advice.
Now, there’s really nothing wrong with having more than one big, tough guy on the team. The problem is that with both of them in the lineup, one of Nikita Soshnikov or Josh Leivo (usually the latter) ends up sitting out.