The Most Insane Thing That Could Happen to the Toronto Maple Leafs

 The Toronto Maple Leafs will hit the All-Star game outside of the playoff race.

It has been a difficult season so far for the Toronto Maple Leafs:

They have been beset by injuries, they had to fire their coach, then subsequently learn an entirely new system.  Their normally reliable goalie has had an off year.  They haven’t gotten much from their back-up goalie.

These things have led to less than ideal results (for the most part).

Though it’s easy to be critical, there’s a lot to like as well:

Since the firing of Babcock, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been the NHL’s 5th best team.  The fact they’ve done this more or less without good goaltending bodes well for their future success.

Before Jake Muzzin was injured, the Leafs were the best team in the NHL under Sheldon Keefe.

With Muzzin due back, and Andersen bound to improve, I’m confident in the Leafs odds of success.  They have a way to gain cap space, and if they want to go big, they’ve got the assets to do it.

So I am definitely feeling very positive.

But let me lay out an alternative scenario.

Toronto Maple Leafs and the Craziest Thing that Could Happen

The Toronto Maple Leafs are built through the draft, and despite pressure on them that makes no logical sense, they are a young team that is only in the fourth season since they had the #1 overall pick.

Due to a history of failure that no one on the current team or management group had anything to do with, the Leafs are expected to become an instant success.

A normal person would look at the Leafs three-straight first round losses as a series of incremental success, just not a Leafs fan.

For instance: in year one they were not expected to make the Playoffs, but they did an nearly upset a legacy team in the Washington Capitals.

In year two, they had to face one of the NHL’s best teams, another legacy team that has been good for years and has a veteran roster.  They took them to game seven before bowing out.

In year three they again played the Bruins, universally regarded as one of the NHL’s best teams, and they outplayed them before again bowing out in the seventh game.

Where are the Young Team Takes Classic Team to the Brink narratives?  Who talks about how the Leafs are a young, up-and-coming team?  No one.  It’s a TOTAL FAILURE that their roster of 23 year olds couldn’t overcome the team they hope to be eight years from now.

Anyways, it’s a bit of a joke, but I digress.

In 2017, the upstart Leafs ironically made the playoffs over a young team just coming into it’s own who suffered from a bit of extended bad luck: The Tampa Bay Lightning.  That summer the Lightning added a bonus player to their already contending roster in the form of Cal Foote who they picked 14th, even though they had no business drafting that high.

But what if they’d gotten lucky and won the lottery? Can you imagine the Lightning with Nico Hischier, Elias Petterson, Miro Heiskanen or Cale Makar right now?  It’d be insane.

Right now the Toronto Maple Leafs are outside of the playoffs, and while we feel strongly they’ll turn it around, anything can happen.  As of right now, they’d have a 1.5% chance of winning the lottery and picking first overall.

Imagine a team featuring  John Tavares, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner adding Alexis Lafreniere to their team.

It would be ridiculous, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility.  We’re talking about perhaps the best player that is likely to be featured in a conversations such as “He’s as good as Matthews, but is he better than McDavid?” and “Is he as good as Sidney Crosby was?”

Anyways, if the Leafs get 2017-Tampa’d  this is your dream consolation.  But I still think they’re the best team in hockey.