The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to win the Stanley Cup this season.
Considering their recent record, you might consider the Toronto Maple Leafs as champions to be a bit of a stretch.
But the fact is, the NHL playoffs are a bit of a toss-up.
The best team doesn’t always win, the goalies have an inordinate amount of influence, and the regular season doesn’t count for anything, starting tonight.
Toronto Maple Leafs as Champs
Now, the Leafs are my favorite team, and of course I’ll be cheering for them, but I actually do think they can win.
I think they’ve got the best roster in the NHL.
I think they’ve got the best goalie in the NHL.
And, I think they’ve under-performed all season long.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the deepest team in the NHL when it comes to centre ice. Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Nazem Kadri make matchups almost impossible, and will very much neutralize any team’s home-ice advantage.
The Bruins have one extremely good line. They can play it against whoever they want, and the Leafs other two lines will crush them. This will work against any team in the NHL.
On the wing, the Leafs have Marner, Nylander, Kapanen, Johnsson and Hyman. This is probably as good or better than anyone else can muster up.
The Defense takes a lot of crap, but the fact is, Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin are close to, if not the best top three in the NHL. Travis Dermott is also a way above average #4.
As for Freddie Andersen, the Leafs are a run and gun team, so his numbers don’t compare to other goalies unless you contextualize the team he plays for. Once you do, he’s probably the best in the NHL. @evolvingwild, who run the best hockey stats twitter account in the world, have said that Andersen (in a tie with John Gibson) should win the Vezina.
That’s good enough for me.
Now let’s consider why the Leafs record this season didn’t meet expectations: injuries and the powerplay. The Leafs missed Nylander until December, they lost Matthews for nearly a quarter of the season, Kadri, Andersen, Dermott, Kapanen and Gardiner all missed time.
This lead to them barely ever dressing their optimal lineup – but in game one, they’re going to do it.
A healthy Toronto Maple Leafs team has the best roster in the NHL. Their power-play was great, among the best in the league, but it’s stats were suppressed by a low shooting percentage. This will correct itself, and then they’ll be unbeatable.
People say the Leafs aren’t tough enough, but that’s just one of the worst possible takes out there. It really doesn’t matter. The Leafs take the least penalties in the NHL and that’s way more important than being “heavy” or “hard to play against.”
The Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup.