How Concerned Should We Be With Toronto Maple Leafs Lousy Pre-Season Record?

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost last night to the Sabres.

The Sabres downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 and that leaves the Leafs with a 1-3 preseason record.

Should we be concerned?

No!

We should be concerned that Mike Babcock seems to think that Ben Harpur is an awesome player, but what did Kyle Dubas think was going to happen when acquired that guy?

We definitely should not be concerned with the record. I only even bring it up to be funny, because this is Toronto and this is Hockey and you can guarantee that some people are already getting out their I-told-you-sos.

But there’s no need.  A team’s preseason record means less than nothing.

Toronto Maple Leafs Training Camp

Wins and losses aside, what have we learned about the Leafs so far?

We learned that Frederick Guathier is going to make the team for sure.  Everyone who covers the team is raving about his improved skating, and while he does have a reputation as a no-offense player, we should remember that his production was actually better last year than both Connor Brown and Patrick Marleau on a per-minute basis.

If Gauthier’s skating can make him slightly more effective, then the Leafs might be onto something here because he’s already pretty valuable as a penalty killer and a defensive player.

What else did we learn?

I liked what I’ve seen so far from Jordan Schamaltz (though I still wish they’d gotten Jaden Schwartz!).

I have thought Cody Ceci looked pretty decent, all things considered.  Obviously he makes too much money, and Rasmus Sandin making the team probably changes everything.

And what about Sandin? Not sure how he can possibly go back to the AHL, and honestly, the Leafs could really use him with Dermott out.

The best part about Sandin is that according to the coach, he “looks just the same on the right or left side.”

I wouldn’t mind seeing how he looks on a pairing with Morgan Rielly.  Yeah, I know it’s unconventional, but rookie or not, I say give him a month in the NHL and he’ll be 10x better than Cody Ceci ever  has been.

Trevor Moore is the other guy who deserves a mention.  The Leafs depth is getting ridiculous, and Moore is quite clearly an NHL player.  With Kapanen looking good on the left wing of John Tavares, suddenly the Leafs do not appear as thin on the left side as they previously did.

So what if they’re 1-3?  This team is fantastic and I absolutely cannot wait until the second day of October when the regular season begins against the Senators.