What Steps the Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Take in Order to Succeed

After being eliminated by the Boston Bruins in game seven for the second year in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to make some changes to their roster and strategies.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are tight against the cap and still have some key players left to sign. With the inevitable departure of Jake Gardiner, the Leafs defence will take a huge hit this season.

They will be looking for contributions from players on league minimum contracts, like Tyler Ennis was this season.

With that being said, here is a list of steps the Leafs will need to follow in order to succeed this season.

Giving Trevor Moore A Larger Role

Trevor Moore was one of the best Leafs during the playoffs. He has a drive like Zach Hyman but also has enough skill to create chances for the Toronto Maple Leafs. While he only had one point during the playoffs, his drive and determination was surely a booster for his teammates to see.

Giving him a role with Auston Matthews or Nazem Kadri would also be beneficial because of addition through subtraction. While I love Patrick Marleau, his game style does not match Matthews’ and was holding him back. Putting in a player like Moore on Matthews’ line will generate more offence because Moore is good at winning puck battles.

By moving Moore up, Marleau would be pushed to the fourth line, which would match him better.

Different Strategies For The Power-Play

The Leafs power-play this season was a huge disappointment. It started off so strong but once teams figured out how to defend against it, the boys in blue could not score anymore. The worst part I they never tried to change the strategy.

Sure players were moved around even now and then, but they also had the same strategy. Rielly to Marner, slap pass to Tavares or Matthews was their go to move for far too long.

This season, the Leafs should have at least five different strategies for the power-play so they can change it up each game and the opposing team does not know how to defend against them.

Not to mention, the Leafs should keep their top power-play out for the full two minutes, there is no reason for them to have a second power-play.

Defense and Goalie Depth

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been improving their defensive depth for the last two-three years and they have one of the best defensive units in the AHL. Their problem though is too many of those guys top out as a bottom pairing guy.

Rasmus Sandin is one player that I am expecting to succeed and could make the jump to the NHL by next season. While his defensive game could use a little more fine-tuning, he would add more to the team than Nikita Zaitsev does. His speed and ability to break out the puck successfully are something that would be a huge benefit to the Leafs next season.

Not to mention, Calle Rosen had a very strong year in the AHL and is ready to play in the NHL. By playing him with Travis Dermott, the Leafs would have a bottom pairing that are strong skaters and move the puck fast.

At the beginning of the season, the Leafs had to choose between keeping one of Garret Sparks, Curtis McEhlinney and Calvin Pickard. Even though Sparks had a terrible season, the Leafs made the right choice. The reason, I say this is because Sparks had the most potential of the three and if the Leafs let him go and he ended up having a great season then fans would be calling for Dubas’ head.

This offseason though, the Leafs should look for a better backup, which could even come from in-house. Michael Hutchinson could be a candidate for the position and it would open a spot in the minors for the Ian Scott to move into the AHL.

Mike Babcock

Now, I will admit that I was apart of the group of fans who were hating on Mike Babcock after the Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs. He made poor choices and I believe fans being disgruntled at him is fair.

What the Leafs need from him this season is the ability for him to be open-minded. The problem with Babcock is once he makes a decision, he will stick to it even if it destroying the team.

This was shown last season when he kept playing Matt Martin and Leo Komarov over Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. It took injuries for Babcock to realize how beneficial those two players were to the team and once he figured that out, Martin and Komarov were sitting in the press box.

This season, he should have player Matthews with Nylander. Both players are better together and separating them hurt the Leafs more than it helped them. For the last 20 games of the season and the playoffs, Kapanen was struggling and Babcock should have changed his lines but he did not.

If Babs is able to adjust more this season, the Toronto Maple Leafs should be a very difficult team to play against.

Overall

This team is a really good team, one of the best in Toronto Maple Leafs history. They have two of the best centres in the world and have elite, playmaking wingers to compliment them. If they can use their lines properly and pick up good players with low salaries then the Leafs should be cup favourites next season.