Toronto Maple Leafs: Maximize Entry Level Contracts, or Stay Patient?

Tim Chiasson

The Toronto Maple Leafs are already a good hockey team, so what’s the point in waiting long to make the team great?

They currently have no defensive prospects that project to be stars right now, which means they’re going to have to go out and get one via trade. What they certainly don’t need is another top ten draft pick.

I don’t think staying patient is going to be of much benefit to the core group of players, given how well they’re all playing right now. They’re only going to be better next season, so why waste that year and the year after?

Acquiring a top four defender and making moves to make the team better isn’t relinquishing the patience model – it’s recognizing what you have and running with it. It’s hard to win the Stanley Cup and if you have the financial freedom to do it and your team is a good hockey team then you do it. We’re talking financially conscious moves, not hand-tying moves.

The Leafs are at the point where they need to make hockey trades and not continue to strictly make future deals. Things change, and the progress of this organization is clearly something that has done just that. Ahead of schedule isn’t a bad thing – it’s an exciting one.

Let’s say, for example, this team makes the playoffs this year and gets bounced in the first round. Do you tell these young stars that the goal isn’t to be better? That it isn’t to get back to the post-season and win? That’s a terrible message to send. If the team is good enough, then make a deal or two and see what happens.