The Toronto Maple Leafs are quite the Enigma. Every fan knows that the Toronto Maple Leafs can often be the focus of a lot of discussion, debate, and even ridicule, primarily from other fanbases (be it warranted or unwarranted). But beyond what is commonly said about the Toronto Maple Leafs, they are actually a pretty solid and deep team, despite the naysayers, especially this regular season. The team, who is currently coming off a 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings, are 18-10-7 on the season and are 3rd in the Atlantic division behind Boston and Florida ( a very competitive Eastern conference). They continue to stay atop of the league even after losing their top rookie goalie (Justin Woll), had to waive their other goalie Ilya Samsonov after a rough start to the season, and losing half of their defensive core to injury (relying heavily on the teams depth and from the Marlies). But with all of that they are still in the top 12 of the league, have a +9 goal differential and have a superstar in Auston Matthews who now leads the league with 29 goals on the season along with 15 assists in 34 games, after signing that big 4-year extension in the off-season. The guy can score in all sorts of ways and continues to show the league why he is a premium goal scorer.
They certainly have some areas that new GM Brad Treliving can improve upon such as the goaltending, bolstering the defensive core and maybe still get a depth piece for the top 9, but it shouldn’t be a “sky is falling” vibe, after every loss (I mean, just watch a Steve Dangle video). But give credit where credit is due, and that is to the entire organization including the coach, who is often under a lot of scrutiny for how he coaches, and yet has a 184-81-37 record with the team in the past 5 seasons and has helped the team and helped the team finally get past the first round last post-season. He has kept them competitive, given them a strong Powerplay and Penalty kill, and even gotten an extension. But of course there were still grumblings in the market that the team needed to be better, or that Keefe needs to go, and that with this core they should be able to go deep in the postseason and possibly win a cup. But it takes time and it is a long 82 game season. Keefe is a great coach and continues to get the best of our his group. But it is also on the players.
We know the team parted (in a very messy way) with their former GM Kyle Dubas, who went on to work with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, and brought in Brad Treliving (previously with the Calgary Flames) to right the ship. So Treliving has put a stamp on the team with his own signings. He brought in Max Domi (Tie Domi’s son and former legendary Maple Leaf), Tyler Bertuzzi (from Boston), Martin Jones (from Seattle Kraken and a veteran goalie), Ryan Reaves (we got to interview his dad on a previous podcast), and John Klingberg, as just some of the big fish to make the team tougher.. He also helped re-sign Auston Matthews for another 4 years and is trying to re-sign Nylander. But the biggest gamble was Martin Jones. He was signed to a minimum $875,000 contract which included $100,000 in signing bonus that was included in case Jones had to be waived (which he was) and it would deter other teams (which it did). Since Woll got injured and Samsonov has come in relief but unable to grab the next (losing his confidence), Jones helped the team with a 5-3 record putting up a .926 SV% and 2.37 goals against. That is pretty solid for a guy who is supposed to be your 3rd string goalie. This also gives Brad Treliving and management time to assess and see what is out there, as the goalie market is scarce and the Leafs aren’t the only team looking for goaltending (see Carolina, Edmonton, & New Jersey). Jones continues to be a solid defender and you know what you are getting from him each night.
But as noted earlier, there is also the priority of resigning William Nylander, who is up after this year. Nylander, 27, is having another excellent season, putting up 19 goals and 31 assists in 35 games, pushing the narrative that he could be a player worth 10+ million for his next contract (although we all know how the last negotiations went). Will he re-sign? All signs point to yes, including some feelers that Nick Kypreos has put out there, but until pen hits paper, anything is possible and can change on a dime. This is something that often can plague a team and their performance, but it hasn’t impacted Nylander or his player. Of course he doesn’t re-sign, this would have massive ramifications for the team and it could be a good trading chip for Treliving if he decides to move on from Nylander. We shall see.
But the big two questions that all Leaf fans always have is what to do with Mitch Marner and how to bolster the blue line. With Marner, he currently has 14 goals and 24 assists in 35 games. He is an excellent playmaker and a local kid, but fans are divided on whether he fits the core 4 or if he should be traded (instead of Nylander). He definitely feels a lot of pressure and people often will point to his size or his lack of physical game, especially in the playoffs. But Marner does so many other great things, powerplay, penalty kill, that when you watch him on the ice, he battles every night. He bleeds blue and white and really shows it on his sleeve. But there will always be critics. Again we shall see, especially when his contract is up next season. But in order for the Leafs to go deep, Brad Treliving will have to bolster and maybe build up that blue line. Right now the team has Simon Benoit, who still doesn’t have a lot of experience in the league (158 games) but has been a big body presence and has gotten into a few scraps (at +6 feet and 205 pounds). They also have Mark Giordano, who although is a solid bottom pairing guy, but he is 40 years old, and isn’t always the fastest guy. Therefore, it might be good to go after a guy with some youth, bite, size and who can play in your top 4 (keep an eye out for a guy like Sean Walker out in Philadelphia). Either way something needs to be done and it will be interesting if they stick with their goalie tandem (Woll & Jones) or if they will also upgrade in net. They have a lot of decisions to make before the trade deadline.
Before I close, I just wanted to make a note about captain John Tavares. He recently celebrated his 1000th point against his former team The New York Islanders and has been a very effective leader and player for the team ever since he signed that big contract on July 1, 2018. He has been integral player for the Leafs and even scored the big goal that helped Toronto get to the second round this past post-season against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has been excellent and as advertised, and it will be interesting to see what his next contract will look like (Anze Kopitar in LA is a possible comparable). But whatever Brad Treliving and Brendan Shanahan plan to do, there will most certainly be no shortage of discussion and speculation when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs. But then again, how can that market not be? We shall also see what happens in the playoffs this year. We are certainly excited to see it.
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- Pawel ‘The Cat’
