In a nutshell, the answer is yes. The Maple Leafs are a year older, there are no hold outs, i.e: no William Nylander holdouts this year. Center John Tavares is now settled in, and of course, star winger Mitch Marner is under contract for a very comfortable 6 years. Goalie Frederick Andersen has looked stellar in pre season play and back up Hutchinson should be good for 20 plus games this year. On defense often spotty defenseman Jake Gardiner has been replaced by Tyson Barrie in the Nazem Kadri trade and Kerfoot has settled into his 3rd line duties.
On paper this team looked good to go. Defenseman Rasmus Sandin had made the team and with Dermott out with injury, Marincin had taken the number 6 slot , as place holder. There was pressure squarely on coach Mike Babcock now, as another first round exit would be disastrous. Leaf GM Kyle Dubas had his own little cult following, who believed that despite the last 2 Stanley Cup winners ( Washington and St. Louis) that size,grit and character were no longer needed and old school Babcock needed to be enlightened. There was no longer any need to protect stars, the refs would do that for them. ROFL.
There was, in fact, one small problem, Dubas had backed himself, for now, into cap Hell . IIya Michalev, at 24 years of age had replaced injured winger Zach Hyman. Hyman was now starting to feel the wear and tear of going in the corners alone. Meanwhile, the gritty Kadri had been banished for stopping his teammates from being attacked by the NHL loved(dirty play, what dirty play?) big,bad Bruins.
Nikita Zaitsev and his contract was traded away along with Connor Brown who himself had been replaced by the up and comin Trevor Moore. Former first rounder Fredrick Gauthier had finally played well enough to get Babcock's attention and Spezza gave that veteran presence for the 4th line, if needed.
Everything is perfect for Toronto to have an even better season this year. But did that matter? No, not really. The regular season now was more of a formality. There is almost no one who would bet against this team making the playoffs. The great thing is, less could be more for the Leafs. Why? Because if they finished lower in the standings they won't have to play their arch nemesis, the Boston Bruins again. Now I ask you, just how bad could that be? To make it even better, the Leafs have no first rounder this year anyway.
This was a season to be enjoyed by the Leaf fans. Cherished even. No matter what happened this season, they were playoff bound. The worst that could happen is they play Boston again. This would be probably the best offensive season for the Toronto Maple Leafs ever. But that wasn't the question. Will Dubas make the changes needed to ensure first round success this year ? I believe he will. Dubas has no other choice and is fully committed now.
Enjoy Leaf fans, I can assure you this will be a season like no other. Expect first round victory this year ! Or heads will surely roll !
Update October 7th 2019: The Leafs had a good start to the season landing 5 out of 6 pts. In the 3rd game in 4 nights, they took a 4 to 1 lead before folding and losing to Carey Price, 6 to 5 in shootout fashion.Montreal's captain Shea Weber crushed Leaf captain John Tavares, setting the tone and Toronto was unable to respond. It showed a critical flaw that Leaf GM Kyle Dubas must address before the playoffs and most likely before the Trade deadline. The Leafs lack the type of player who can set the tone and act as a deterrent to their Captain and star players getting ambushed. Yes, they ran out of gas, Yes, Kapanen lost it much like Kadri did in frustration. But also, moral dropped right around when Weber crushed new Leaf Captain John Tavares.
You can't blame the coach if you won't give him the tools he needs. This team is overloaded with flash talent, but does it have the right balance to finally get through the first round and take on teams like Washington, Boston and St Louis?
On an upnote, Toronto's third line of Russian rookie winger Mikheyev, newly acquired center Kerfoot and winger Trevor Moore has been both a revelation and Toronto's best line. They exude hustle,speed and determination and have been very effective so far.
Leaf GM Kyle Dubas has some assets in layers like Barrie(UFA) and Kapanen that he could package for some cap relief and different type of players. The Leafs are blessed with Liljegren and Sandin and need to re sign Jake Muzzin. I don't know what to say about Kapanen but he doesn't see to fit anywhere.I have heard Barrie will want $7 Million plus and don't see how the Leafs can fit that in. They also have players like Bracco, Korshkov and Engvall pushing upwards.
On paper this team looked good to go. Defenseman Rasmus Sandin had made the team and with Dermott out with injury, Marincin had taken the number 6 slot , as place holder. There was pressure squarely on coach Mike Babcock now, as another first round exit would be disastrous. Leaf GM Kyle Dubas had his own little cult following, who believed that despite the last 2 Stanley Cup winners ( Washington and St. Louis) that size,grit and character were no longer needed and old school Babcock needed to be enlightened. There was no longer any need to protect stars, the refs would do that for them. ROFL.
There was, in fact, one small problem, Dubas had backed himself, for now, into cap Hell . IIya Michalev, at 24 years of age had replaced injured winger Zach Hyman. Hyman was now starting to feel the wear and tear of going in the corners alone. Meanwhile, the gritty Kadri had been banished for stopping his teammates from being attacked by the NHL loved(dirty play, what dirty play?) big,bad Bruins.
Nikita Zaitsev and his contract was traded away along with Connor Brown who himself had been replaced by the up and comin Trevor Moore. Former first rounder Fredrick Gauthier had finally played well enough to get Babcock's attention and Spezza gave that veteran presence for the 4th line, if needed.
Everything is perfect for Toronto to have an even better season this year. But did that matter? No, not really. The regular season now was more of a formality. There is almost no one who would bet against this team making the playoffs. The great thing is, less could be more for the Leafs. Why? Because if they finished lower in the standings they won't have to play their arch nemesis, the Boston Bruins again. Now I ask you, just how bad could that be? To make it even better, the Leafs have no first rounder this year anyway.
This was a season to be enjoyed by the Leaf fans. Cherished even. No matter what happened this season, they were playoff bound. The worst that could happen is they play Boston again. This would be probably the best offensive season for the Toronto Maple Leafs ever. But that wasn't the question. Will Dubas make the changes needed to ensure first round success this year ? I believe he will. Dubas has no other choice and is fully committed now.
Enjoy Leaf fans, I can assure you this will be a season like no other. Expect first round victory this year ! Or heads will surely roll !
Update October 7th 2019: The Leafs had a good start to the season landing 5 out of 6 pts. In the 3rd game in 4 nights, they took a 4 to 1 lead before folding and losing to Carey Price, 6 to 5 in shootout fashion.Montreal's captain Shea Weber crushed Leaf captain John Tavares, setting the tone and Toronto was unable to respond. It showed a critical flaw that Leaf GM Kyle Dubas must address before the playoffs and most likely before the Trade deadline. The Leafs lack the type of player who can set the tone and act as a deterrent to their Captain and star players getting ambushed. Yes, they ran out of gas, Yes, Kapanen lost it much like Kadri did in frustration. But also, moral dropped right around when Weber crushed new Leaf Captain John Tavares.
You can't blame the coach if you won't give him the tools he needs. This team is overloaded with flash talent, but does it have the right balance to finally get through the first round and take on teams like Washington, Boston and St Louis?
On an upnote, Toronto's third line of Russian rookie winger Mikheyev, newly acquired center Kerfoot and winger Trevor Moore has been both a revelation and Toronto's best line. They exude hustle,speed and determination and have been very effective so far.
Leaf GM Kyle Dubas has some assets in layers like Barrie(UFA) and Kapanen that he could package for some cap relief and different type of players. The Leafs are blessed with Liljegren and Sandin and need to re sign Jake Muzzin. I don't know what to say about Kapanen but he doesn't see to fit anywhere.I have heard Barrie will want $7 Million plus and don't see how the Leafs can fit that in. They also have players like Bracco, Korshkov and Engvall pushing upwards.
