Written By: Jason Hu
Edited By: Cameron Schoffro
With the 2020-2021 NHL season set to begin on Jan 13th, 31 NHL franchises will be competing for hockey’s biggest prize, the Stanley Cup. Among those 31 teams vying for a Stanley cup championship, are the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are seeking their 14th Stanley Cup. The Toronto Maple Leafs will be a team that many people will be watching and analyzing this upcoming season and will be under a lot of pressure to perform.
The pressure will be on Leafs to have a successful season this year, as they failed to make it past the first round last season for the 15th season in a row. After the hire of general manager Lou Lamoriello and head coach Mike Babcock, Toronto seemed to be in a good position. The Leafs would only miss the playoffs once, then make the playoffs in 2016-2017. They took the favourite Washington Capitals to 6 games and put up a fight against them. The following year, the Leafs endured a hard-fought first round series against the Boston Bruins. At this point, things were looking good for the Leafs; they appeared to be a team on the rise. Toronto expected to take a big step when they signed former Islanders superstar John Tavares in free agency. Again, Toronto would follow up with two disappointing seasons, suffering another first round loss to the Bruins and an upset loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the qualifying round last season. Now, the team is looking like they have taken a step backwards and they are suddenly feeling the need to deliver some results this season. If the Leafs don't deliver, major criticism will be coming their way.
There should be no excuse for more failure this coming season, as on paper, Toronto boasts one the most talented rosters in the league. First off, they have one of the best 1-2 punches down the middle in Auston Matthews, who scored 47 goals last season, and John Tavares, who is averaging 0.94 points per game so far in his 11-year career. They also have a star winger in Mitch Marner, who amassed 67 points in 59 games last season, paired with a skilled winger in William Nylander who scored 31 goals in 68 games last year. Furthermore, they signed veteran playmaker Joe Thornton and have a skilled young forward in Nick Robertson, who is looking to have a breakout season. This should not be an offence that only averages 2.00 goals for per game in the playoffs like they did last year against the Blue Jackets. The Leafs are a little weak on the blue line but still have some quality players, particularly Morgan Reilly who had down year last season but scored 72 points the season prior. In addition to Rielly, they have a Stanley Cup winning veteran defenseman in Jake Muzzin and signed a solid two-way defender in T.J Brodie. In net, they have Frederik Andersen, he may not be an elite goalie, but he is still very good. The Leafs are a team that has more than enough to at least make it past the first round and are the favourites to win the North division this season. With this roster, anything short of at least a second-round playoff appearance, will be a major disappointment.
Toronto’s current contract situation has shortened the window for success. In addition to having around 40.3 Million dollars tied up in 4 players, goalie Frederik Andersen’s contract is up at the end of this season and Morgan Rielly’s will be up at the end of next season. These two players will be crucial to Toronto's Stanley Cup hopes and would be very hard to replace. Losing Andersen would a huge blow as Toronto does not currently have anyone who is a viable option to take over as the starter. Andersen ranks 5th in wins (156) and 7th in Games Played (244) in Maple Leaf history. He also averaged a solid .915 save percentage in the 4 seasons with the Maple Leafs. In Rielly, they would be losing their clear number one defenseman and leave a huge void on the blue line. Reilly has been with the Maple Leafs for his entire 7 season career, scoring a career-high 72 points in 82 games just two seasons ago. Also, both Andersen and Rielly will most likely be seeking a raise on their current salary. With Toronto having no cap space, one or both of these players could be gone unless a major trade happens to clear up the cap. Due to this situation, the next two years will be the Leafs' prime opportunity to win before Toronto has to trade valuable assets to keep Andersen and Rielly on the team, rather than losing them for nothing.
Expectations will be high for the Leafs this season. Everyone from the front office to the players, to Maple Leaf fans across the country, will be expecting success from this team. If the Maple Leafs fail to reach expectations once again, huge changes will be coming their way and Maple Leaf fans will not see their Leafs hoist the Stanley Cup for the 53rd straight season.
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