Toronto Maple Leafs: Stay Positive

In recent days, I have been accused of being exceedingly negative toward the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I wrote that I didn’t agree that the Toronto Maple Leafs had infallible management. I wrote that I thought signing Patrick Marleau was pretty stupid.  And that I didn’t believe Mike Babcock when he hilariously said that he was going to pair Ron Hainsey with Morgan Rielly and use that as one of his top pairings.

I wrote those things because I believe them.  There isn’t any historical precedence in the NHL for thinking that players 36 and older should be signed, and it certainly hasn’t escaped my notice that Hainsey and Marleau will come with a combined cap-hit of over nine million dollars.

But just because I believe that the Leafs – like any organization – are not perfect, it doesn’t mean I think they’re total crap.  Here are some reasons to be positive:

1.  The Season Doesn’t Start for Two Months

There is still plenty of time to acquire a real, actual top-four defenseman who can take the spot Mike Babcock may or may not seriously think Hainsey should be playing in.  Certainly if the Leafs were to acquire Chris Tenev or someone of that ilk Ron Hainsey isn’t going to be seeing any  top four minutes.

More from Editor In Leaf

• Toronto Maple Leafs: Nick Robertson Healthy and Ready
• Ryan Reaves Will Have Zero Impact on Toronto Maple Leafs
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Playing Max Domi In Top-Six a HUGE Mistake
• Top 10 Scandals in the History of the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Results from the Traverse City Prospects Tournament

      2.   The Toronto Maple Leafs Have Assets

With Cap Space and tons of assets (too many wingers, all their own draft picks) the Leafs are in prime position to acquire the players to put them over the top.

One of the reasons the Marleau/Hanisey thing bugs me so much is that for nine million dollars, and a couple first round picks, some prospects and maybe Connor Brown, the team could have acquired someone younger, better and who’d make more of a difference. .   Who knows who is available, but I do know that if you took two firsts, Connor Brown and Travis Dermott and offered it around the league, you could probably come back with a pretty good player.

        3.  The Core of the Leafs is Unreal

While it appears that management either does not recognize the opportunity they have with Matthews, Marner and Nylander being so cheap, or they just have a weird way of showing it, the Leafs are still a really, really good team.

The team defense needs work, but the trio of Zaitsev, Rielly and Gardiner is a great foundation to build a blueline on.  The aforementioned sophomores are only getting better and players like Gardiner, Kadri, Komarov, Rielly, Andersen and van Riemsdyk are all in their prime and on team friendly deals.

The Leafs can and will add to this team.  Some of their seemingly strange moves this summer might be viewable in a whole new light if the team adds at least two more players who are actual upgrades and not just 40 year olds looking to leader their way into an early April tee-time.

Next: Is Babcock Trolling?

All in all, I don’t think criticizing moves the team makes is being overtly negative. I think it’s a necessary evil that will give me more credibility when I say things are going well – since it will be clear I’m not just a cheerleader.  Regardless, even with the recent bad moves, the team remains on a solid upswing.