Some players do more than score. Like Domi and bert. The players who are expected to score and are not need to be replaced by the Robertson's and young blood who actually are scoring. Reward these guys, not mediocrity
Here's the problem -- the Leafs need them to do more than just "bring intangibles"... the need them to contribute, if even just a bit.
To be successful in the playoffs, you need most, if not an entire team, to know they need to contribute offensively.... it's too easy to key-in on 2-3, even 4 guys. You need 3 lines and 2 powerplay units capable of scoring, not just one that teams study inside & out; and learn to get reads on.
Domi, to his credit, I have slightly fewer concerns about.... he's pacing over 40 points, he's only playing 12:52/night, and the vast majority of his production is coing at even strength.
Bertuzzi on the other hand, more concerning. His minutes are about 20% more than Domi's, and he's got fewer points. He's had much higher quality linemates as well.
I feel like I've been asking for this for years, but they've gotta break them up into 3 lines. You look at what William Nylander did in the playoffs one year with Alex Kerfoot as his centre. Domi is better, at least offensively, than Kerfoot.
Let's not forget that Domi is a guy who put up 72 points and was a +20 (1 shy of the team lead) on a Habs team where the next highest scoring player had 58 points. A guy that likes to distribute from the centre position, paired with a winger who can shoot and carry the puck like Nylander should be a match made in heaven.
Yes, it'll be tough for Matthews to score 65+ without Mitch Marner on his wing, but this team needs to stop focusing on individual accolades, and more on winnign games. Tavares probably doesn't have 47 goals in him again, but there should be no reason why he can't score 35ish on a line with Mitch Marner.
Come the deadline, the Leafs shouldn't fall into the trap of "we need another 2nd line player to make our 3rd line go"; they should start getting accustomed to spreading the offence over 3 lines; with the likely pairings being Domi-Nylander, Tavares-Marner, then Matthews.... and figure out what each of those 3 lines needs in terms of linemates.