Toronto Maple Leafs: Some Nit Picks for Next Year

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a good hockey team.

We can all agree on that, right? I mean, a rule that strictly prohibits teams with a top-3 centre corps of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and Nazem Kadri from being bad exists somewhere, doesn’t it?

Well, it should. You know, for the sake of the league.

There are only so many ways to can talk about how good the Leafs are without becoming redundant. Adding one of the NHL’s top centres to a roster which, were the postseason seeding structure not incredibly flawed, almost certainly would’ve cracked the second round is downright insane.

It’s a video game move, albeit one Kyle Dubas managed to pull off in real life.

So, where do we go from here? Personally, I think it’s high time for some nitpicking. The Leafs may have bulked up significantly over the summer, but a few nagging issues continue to bother me, buzzing past my ear like a mosquito I somehow cannot kill.

Will you, loyal readers, let me voice some marginal concerns? Too bad. You don’t have a choice.

Esektit!

4^th Line Centre

Take a gander at lines 1-3. Will the Leafs even need a 4^th line centre next season?

Mike Babcock could theoretically ride Matthews, Tavares, and Kadri for 20 minutes a piece on any given night, and on the rare occasion either of them needs a break, grab the closest fan at arm’s length and just toss them out there to fill the void in the meantime.

At this point, he’d probably opt for that if it meant he’d avoid playing Josh Leivo.

Prove me wrong.

Still, it never hurts to have a backup plan. I’d rest far easier with the knowledge that management is indeed charting an alternative course for the not-impossible scenario of Par Lindholm not panning out, preferably to the tune of Nick Shore.

Which isn’t to say they’ll need one.

In fact, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, someone who has consumed more SHL tape of Lindholm than any reasonable human being ever should, wrote a piece on Lindholm’s expected transition in May, concluding that the 26-year-old Swede is likely to top out as an effective 4^th line centre.

Really, doesn’t that pretty much cover what the Leafs’ need? Well, not so fast.

Remember Petri Kontiola? And before you answer, don’t lie to me. I know you don’t.

The Nonis-era Leafs brought the Finnish centre over in 2014 as a free agent, banking on the successful translation of his KHL production to North American ice. Production, mind you, suspiciously similar to Lindholm’s.

As one can expect, Kontiola didn’t end up bringing his offence with him on the plane from Chelyabinsk, failing to even make the Leafs out of camp before eventually landing back in the KHL uniform by November.

Lindholm’s game is far more versatile than Kontiola’s, making comparisons between the two not totally fair. Then again, this is the Leafs we’re talking about.

Never underestimate the worst-case scenario.

Back Up Goaltender

The Leafs currently have too many goaltenders, a welcome change from the organization’s prior issue of not having enough goaltenders. These, my friends, are rich people problems.

Frederik Andersen is the obviously entrenched #1, his status leaving little to debate. Outside of the loveable Dane, however, is where matters complicate.

Curtis McElhinney, Garret Sparks, and Calvin Pickard are each locked into one-way deals for the 2018-19 season, not to mention the variable of Kasimir Kaskisuo, who signed an ELC in late May. This almost certainly pencils Kaskisuo in as Marlies’ back up, leaving the role of Andersen’s understudy and Marlies’ starter the lone ones up for grabs.

What this all boils down to is the Leafs having three NHL-calibre backups and two open spots. Something’s got to give.

This problem doesn’t nag at me quite like the 4C situation, and honestly fails to even truly classify as a “problem” in the first place, but it’s nonetheless a crucial area of the roster left uncertain as training camp creeps on the horizon.

The worst part in all this is that there’s no clear answer. Every option makes a case.

Sparks earned himself AHL Goaltender of the Year honours last season en route to a Calder Cup. By all accounts, it’s high time he deserves a legitimate spot on the Leafs, or at the very least an opportunity to truly earn one.

As a 2012 draft pick, this organization has invested resources into Sparks for what now borders on half a decade. They’re not cutting him loose just as he’s hitting his stride.

There’s also McElhinney, whose game underwent a career renaissance in 2017-18 by way of an eye-popping .934 save percentage which he carried through 18 games. His style ain’t pretty, in fact, it’s become one of the most prominent sources of anxiety within the fan base, but few can argue with results.

Does McElhinney stand a chance at replicating those numbers despite celebrating his 35th birthday over the summer? Probably not. But don’t forget how we all collectively doubted his abilities a mere 12 months ago as well.

Look what happened. Goalies are voodoo.

Finally, we reach Pickard. The former-Avalanche is yet another goaltender who put together a commendable body of work as a Marlie and recently signed a one-year extension. Now set to return to the organization in some capacity, he needs to fit somewhere too.

While the most obvious scenario is undoubtedly Sparks earning the Leafs job, Pickard starting for the Marlies, with McElhinney waived, I wouldn’t bet a single penny on that outcome.

Not in the same world where Curtis gosh darn McElhinney flirts with a .940.

Ron Hainsey

If Twitter subjects me to another tweet that includes the phrases “Leafs” and “right-handed D” I will vomit through my eyeballs. I can’t take it anymore. Go outside.

So, this will not, in fact, be a discussion regarding the defence corps. Rather, I want to talk about one player in particular; Ron Hainsey.

The guy stresses me out.

Dubas may have spent his summer gradually stripping the bulk of the toys from Babcock’s Saskatchewan weathered hands, but he didn’t take them all. Hainsey is still here. And as long as we’re living in that reality, Babcock runs the risk of “rewarding” Hainsey with an unconscionable amount of ice time.

I shudder at the thought.

For all the press heaped upon the Leafs’ cutting edge sports science team, a 37-year-old defenceman somehow managed to play until he his bones were ground down into a fine powder with no one making an effort to stop him. How does that happen?

The Leafs booked a playoff spot at Christmas. Couldn’t you have given him an occasional night off?

I’d even venture so far as to say Hainsey’s workload served as one of the key factors fuelling Toronto’s first-round exit to Boston. If you’re intending to trust a vet with top-pairing responsibilities and an irresponsibly big role on the penalty kill, at least ensure that he’s rested for when the games really matter.

Hainsey was noticeably gassed before the series even began, and you better believe the Bruins knew it. How much would a rested top pair have shifted the series in the Leafs’ favour?

Babcock simply cannot pull that stuff this year. He just can’t. Signing Tavares take the training wheels off this roster and dictates that lessons learned from gradually breaking your veterans down over the course of a full season are largely irrelevant.

If Hainsey is tired, rest him. Is that too much to ask? Save some energy for the parade, man.

Thanks for reading!