The Toronto Maple Leafs farm team was hoping to have another magical season but that changed quickly.
Over the last five seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs have stressed the importance of development, and that’s been done through the Toronto Marlies.
The Marlies are one typically one of the better teams in the American Hockey League (AHL) and rarely miss the playoffs. Heading into this year, the team had made the playoffs in eight straight seasons.
For a typical Leafs fan, you may not realize how important it is for their farm system to be competitive every year. It’s one thing to pump out a few great prospects every year, but having them play competitive games is incredibly important.
For example, there’s a reason why there are so many Marlies graduates from the 2017-18 Calder Cup winning team on the Toronto Maple Leafs current roster. A player’s development can get accelerated from long playoff grinds, and they can learn so much about themselves in big games.
Current Leafs such as Justin Holl and Andreas Johnsson will be forever grateful for their time with the Marlies, and there’s no doubt that more players like them will continue to develop with the Leafs.
For this current Marlies season, there was talk from within that this roster was actually more talented than that Calder Cup winning team. The team had lost a handful of veterans, but they added the following to make up for that loss: Kenny Agostino, Pontus Aberg, Garrett Wilson and Matt Read.
The biggest question mark for the Marlies heading into the season was goaltending, as it was unsure whether Kasmir Kaskisuo could carry the load.
Let’s go through the season month-by-month: