Editor In Leaf
Fansided

EIL Roundtable: Have the Toronto Maple Leafs Done Enough to Pass the Bruins?

By James Tanner

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 11: Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (29) reacts to his goal during Game 1 of the First Round between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 11, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 11: Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (29) reacts to his goal during Game 1 of the First Round between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 11, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 7
Next
TORONTO, ON – APRIL 21: Mitch Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Boston Bruins during the first period during Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Scotiabank Arena on April 21, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – APRIL 21: Mitch Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Boston Bruins during the first period during Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Scotiabank Arena on April 21, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /

James Tanner

The answer is yes and no.

The Toronto Maple Leafs might have gotten deeper this summer, but that isn’t really worth all that many wins.

They may have gotten more balanced, but again, that isn’t going to make a huge difference.  The added depth is nice, but this isn’t soccer, and stars win you games in hockey.

The Leafs lost Gardiner and Kadri, and they added Barrie and Kerfoot.  A generous homer Leafs-only fan might call that a draw.  At best.

Whether or not the Toronto Maple Leafs improved their team is a question that is, at best, debatable.

The thing is though, there are many ways in which they can still get better.  From getting more from Nylander (as if leading your team in puck possession, play driving, scoring chance creation, as well as posting positive differentials in every stat category,  and being versatile enough to move to centre when someone gets suspended wasn’t already pretty good) to getting internal, age-related improvement from the likes of Matthews or Marner.

The Leafs can get better, and they were already pretty great.

They could have won last year’s Stanley Cup if just a couple of things went right for them.  The Leafs are already a superior team to Boston and equal to Tampa.

Guess what? Tampa won’t put up an 11-3 record with one goal games again.  They won’t shoot 23% on the power-play (while Toronto is unlikely to  shoot 12% again).  The Leafs are already just as good as Tampa.

So while I don’t think the Leafs improved enough this offseason, I think they are already at the point where they only need things to go right for them in order to win.

They should be the favorites to win the Atlantic Division, the President’s Trophy and the Stanley Cup.

Home/Maple Leafs News