Are the Toronto Maple Leafs as good as we think?

[bagelbitesisbae 71]

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We all know about the speculation that the Maple Leafs have. Everybody thinks that they will be the eventual Stanley Cup champions next year, but is that really the case for them? Today we are going to do an analysis on the Toronto Maple Leafs to conclude whether they actually have a chance at the coveted, Stanley Cup. 

 

We we all know that the Maple Leafs are top heavy, but they recently acquired John Tavares and signed him to a 7 by 11 contract. That contract was big and hindered Toronto’s salary cap in quite a dramatic way. They need to get some salary cap room so they can sign Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Auston Matthews. Kyle Dubas (Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager) said that he has some plan to sign all three of them, but does he really? Their cap space is currently at 13.3mil. 13.3mil may sound like a decent amount, but again, remember that they have to sign Marner, Nylander, Matthews, and several other players who’re less important.  Mitch Marner is an incredible forward who needs a new contract after this upcoming season. He will probably cost 7mil+ Matthews will probably cost at least 8mil+, and Nylander will be 5mil+. Will they have to trade William Nylander away and possibly other players? 

 

Now, let’s talk about their defensive situation. They have Morgan Reilly and Jake Gardiner who is on the last year of his contract he signed back in 2014. Jake Gardiner will probably be 5mil+. Gardiner managed to get a career high 52 points last year which is an immaculate total for him. Morgan Reilly is a good defenseman, but nothing special. Their defensive core drops off pretty dang hard. 

 

Will TOR’s forwards compensate for Frederik Andersen’s inconsistency? Frederik Andersen had a 2.81 goals against average last year with a .918 save percentage. Frederik Andersen is obviously a starter goalie, not an elite goalie. If he can be consistent, it will go a long way for this Toronto Maple Leafs club. 

 

I dont see Toronto winning the Stanley Cup this upcoming season because they don’t have a good enough defensive core to hold off a team like Tampa Bay or Winnipeg. They also have inconsistent goaltending that plays a huge factor in my ruling. 

 

Will Toronto have to trade away William Nylander so they can somehow sign Jake Gardiner? Will they go deep into the playoffs with the potential of winning the Cup? Will John Tavares elevate them in a positive way? I’m not a fortune teller so we’ll have to wait and see!

 

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[BluObieZ 1,125]

They will score goals that's forsure. But the D is not even in the top 15 in the league. They will cough up a lot of quality scoring chances. Anderson faltered last season to the point they thought about a upgrade. We will see. But I do not see a cup in the future unless they fix that D. Which will be hard with the money they spend on Forwards. Still need to re-sign Nylander. Then Matthews and Marner next season. They need to get rid of some forwards to fix that D

[bagelbitesisbae 71]

6 minutes ago, BluObieZ said:

They will score goals that's forsure. But the D is not even in the top 15 in the league. They will cough up a lot of quality scoring chances. Anderson faltered last season to the point they thought about a upgrade. We will see. But I do not see a cup in the future unless they fix that D. Which will be hard with the money they spend on Forwards. Still need to re-sign Nylander. Then Matthews and Marner next season. They need to get rid of some forwards to fix that D

Yeah, I totally agree with you, man. 

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

No. I can see the Maples Leafs having a couple years similar to the Capitals the past 5ish years (before this Cup win obviously) - good regular season success, but playoff failure, even when favored. 

[bagelbitesisbae 71]

3 minutes ago, Fire Hakstol said:

No. I can see the Maples Leafs having a couple years similar to the Capitals the past 5ish years (before this Cup win obviously) - good regular season success, but playoff failure, even when favored. 

Good observation, man.  I think that people are forgetting about their cap issues, defense issues, and inconsistent goaltending. It shows you how bright and shiny John Tavares is.

[Devise 4,475]

50 minutes ago, bagelbitesisbae said:

Good observation, man.  I think that people are forgetting about their cap issues, defense issues, and inconsistent goaltending. It shows you how bright and shiny John Tavares is.

 

Absolutely. It's tough because as a legit hockey fan criticism of John Tavares gets thrown into the ever long Pro/Anti Leafs/Canadian Media establishment nonsense. When I think the reality is most real hockey fans recognize John Tavares is a very talented hockey player. He's just, for a lot of us personally, always been lower in the tier list of stars. Not lower as in, not considered a star at all. Just not as big of a name/historically as big of a dealbreaker as the stars that often get ranked above him. 

 

As such, trying to suggest that Tavares to Toronto didn't make them "that" much better, is like baffling to some who get lost in those other debates. It's not a question of if Toronto is a better team now than last season, of course they are. I think it's more about tempering expectations to just how better they are, and in what areas they still do struggle etc. 

 

I said it in the Discord when were off and on chatting but I really do feel like presuming Matthews star continues to grow/shine, that they end up on par offensively with some of the top teams in the East who share their strength when it comes to forward depth. I think Toronto probably does have the better center depth than some of the other squads, considering Kadri is superior to most of the competitions third liners. But when it comes to even top six, does TOR have the best in the league? Earnestly I don't know if I'd even go that far. Top nine? Maybe, again though after you get out of center the team isn't as deep even at forward as some of the other teams they will likely no doubt face in the playoffs just due to seeding. 

[Tyler 885]

Yeah their defense will hold them back. It's up to Dubas to fix it. Not sure if he can without sacraficing Nylander/Marner depending on the contract ask from both of them. I also don't trust Freddie Anderson as much as others. Too inconsistent for a team with weak defense. They'll be second or first in the Atlantic IMO but it remains to be seen how well they can do in an exploit/coaching match up.

 

Also Babcock remains the most overrated coach in the league. He and Julien have been for a long time.

Edited September 8, 2018 by Tyler

[bagelbitesisbae 71]

1 minute ago, Tyler said:

Yeah their defense will hold them back. It's up to Dubas to fix it. Not sure if he can without sacraficing Nylander/Marner depending on the contract ask from both of them. I also don't trust Freddie Anderson as much as others. Too inconsistent for a team with weak defense. They'll be second or first in the Atlantic IMO but it remains to be seen how well they can do in an exploit/coaching match up.

 

Also Babcock remains the most overrated coach in the league. He and Julien have been for a long time.

Yep, I agree with everything you said. Their defense is a setback, and their goaltending is very inconsistent. To be a successful team in the NHL, you have to be good all-around.

[Tyler 885]

2 minutes ago, bagelbitesisbae said:

Yep, I agree with everything you said. Their defense is a setback, and their goaltending is very inconsistent. To be a successful team in the NHL, you have to be good all-around. 

 

I think goaltending can be a bit overrated sometimes. You can win with league average goaltending but you better have good defense lol.

 

 

[bagelbitesisbae 71]

Just now, Tyler said:

 

I think goaltending can be a bit overrated sometimes. You can win with league average goaltending but you better have good defense lol.

 

 

Yeah, but you need good goaltending if you have mediocre defense.