Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 Things That Could Go Wrong

After a 2016-2017 season where almost everything went right for the Toronto Maple Leafs, lets look ahead to 2017-2018 and what could possibly go wrong.

Before last season, most Toronto Maple Leafs fans had grown used to a culture of pessimism and doubt surrounding their team. 50 years of futility will do that to a fan base.

The Leafs now have the team the fans have been waiting decades for. It seems everyone is excited and optimistic about the direction the team is heading in. I firmly believe that the Toronto Maple Leafs are poised to take another step forward next season as the team grows into a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

That said, it’s hard to be an optimist when you’re a Leafs fan.  In this piece I will digress back to my negative ways and take a closer look at things that could prevent this team from building on the success of last year.

So let’s temporarily take off those blinders, put the brown bags back over our heads and dive into four things that could go wrong this season.

#1. Toronto Maple Leafs: Injuries

This is the thing that worries me the most going into next season. The Leafs were  fortunate last year when it came to injuries. Not only did they not have many injuries, but they had very few injuries to key players. Morgan Rielly missed six games with a high ankle sprain, and Mitch Marner missed five due to a shoulder injury.

Mitch Marner Injury

Frederick Andersen also battled some short-term injury problems, but still managed to play 66 games for the team.

In the playoffs, Roman Polak suffered an injury during game 2 of the first round. The injury ended his season (and possibly career). Say what you will about Polak, but he was playing some of his best hockey and his absence definitely hurt the team. If an injury to Roman Polak can have that kind of effect, just imagine what could happen if the team lost one or more of their stars for an extended period of time.

Last season might have had a much different outcome had the Toronto Maple Leafs faced any serious injury problems. The Tampa Bay Lightning were widely considered to be a favourite to win the Stanley Cup. That was before long-term injuries derailed their season and saw them miss the playoffs altogether.

Many Leafs fans and members of the media have lofty expectations for next season. But if the team runs into serious injury problems they could very easily be back to the draft lottery.

#2. Toronto Maple Leafs: Regression

The Toronto Maple Leafs played better than anyone anticipated in 2016-2017. Because of this, expectations for the team have changed drastically. Is it realistic for us to believe that they will improve next season, or even maintain what they accomplished last year? I hope so, but the NHL is a very tough league to play in and teams adjust quickly.

Last season the Leafs surprised a lot of their opponents. They often came out flying and managed to score a lot of goals in the first period.

After icing six to nine rookies regularly last season, the sophomore slump has to be a concern. I don’t believe this has the same effect on elite talent like Matthews, Marner and Nylander, but that still leaves the possibility of regression for Brown, Hyman and Zaitsev. Brown was a key contributor last season, scoring 17 goals at even strength and 20 in total. Hyman plays a very important role on the team’s top line. Zaitsev recently signed on for seven more seasons and is a key member of the blue line. If these three players struggle to produce and maintain a high level of play it could prevent the team from taking that next step.

Several veterans also had career years in 2016-2017. It may not be realistic to expect Kadri to score 30+ goals. Last year, he nearly doubled his goal total from each of the previous two seasons. He was also riding a 100% increase in his shooting percentage from the previous year. JVR, Bozak and Gardiner all had career highs in points last season, which may not be sustainable.

It’s easy to assume that the Toronto Maple Leafs will just keep getting better. After career years for a number of players, combined with unprecedented rookie campaigns, this may not be the case.

#3. Toronto Maple Leafs: Goaltending/Defence

The Toronto Maple Leafs have Frederick Andersen locked in as their starting netminder for four more seasons. The Great Dane played well for the Leafs last year, but had a few bumps along the way. Andersen had a rocky start to his season after suffering an injury in the summer. He managed to play 66 games last year, winning 33 of them and posting a 9.18 save percentage.

The Leafs acquired veteran backup Curtis McElhinney, who played 14 games with the club last season. Although he played well enough to help the Leafs get into the playoffs, he is not a great option if Andersen goes down to an extended injury. McElhinney has a career save percentage of 0.905 and has never played more than 32 games in a season. In fact, through twelve seasons he has only appeared in 168 games and has only 51 wins on his NHL resume. The Leafs could find themselves in serious trouble next year if they are forced to rely on McElhinney as anything more than a backup.

The Toronto Maple Leafs defense was widely considered to be their weak spot last season. Throughout the off-season there have been rumours that the team is looking to upgrade the back-end. So far the team has signed 36 year old Ron Hainsey and a pair of Swedish prospects. They have also lost Hunwick to free agency and have not resigned Roman Polak. If things stay status quo there will be a lot of pressure on Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly to carry the load. If either of these two players struggle this season or suffer a serious injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs defence will be a weak spot once again.