Fansided

5 Things the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Never Do

By James Tanner |
TORONTO, ON-Toronto-DUBAS.The Maple Leafs announced today the promotion of Kyle Dubas to General Manager. Brendan Shanahan was on hand for the announcement..October 30, 2012. (Rene Johnston/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON-Toronto-DUBAS.The Maple Leafs announced today the promotion of Kyle Dubas to General Manager. Brendan Shanahan was on hand for the announcement..October 30, 2012. (Rene Johnston/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs are ready to compete for a Stanley Cup.

When the season resumes – assuming it does – the Toronto Maple Leafs should be healthy (mostly; Andreas Johnsson will be out until August) and they should be able to give Tampa a run for their money.

But, the off-season is a season for speculation: rumours, ideas, and suggestions abound.

So, while it’s fun to suggest what the Leafs should do, I thought I’d mix it up and suggest a few things they should never do.

Things the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Never Do

  1. Sign any depth players to anything over one million dollar deals. 

That means no Kyle Clifford (unless he’s willing to take a pay cut), no raise for Jason Spezza (assuming he wants to come back) and definitely no mid-range bottom-of-the-lineup UFAs.

    2.  Trade Morgan Rielly 

He’s the de facto captain, the best defenseman the team had since Kaberle, he’s one of the NHL’s best defenseman, and he should spend his entire career with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Fold the franchise before trading him.

3.  Sign an Enforcer 

Sorry Ryan Reaves fans, this is never happening, nor should it.  Thankfully the Leafs have a GM who understands the importance of skill players.

  4.  Overpay Ilya Mikheyev 

I am a huge fan of MIkheyev, but what makes him so valuable is his cheap deal. If you give him the same contract as Andreas Johnsson, you might as well just keep Johnsson (who is expendable if the Leafs have cheap deals for Hyman, Mikheyev and Barabanov in place).

 5. Stop Trading Draft Picks

If there was one thing that I think fans of the NHL misunderstand, it’s the value of draft picks.  Top 5 or even top 10 picks are extremely important, but after that the odds of grabbing a star player are so low you’re almost always better off trading the pick.

In the six drafts from 2013 to 2018, the Penguins drafted only once in the first round and immediately traded the player they drafted to the Toronto Maple Leafs.   During this time, the Penguins won a Stanley Cup and competed for one in ever other year.

Given the Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas excellent draft record, and proven ability to find gems in later rounds, the team should continue to draft their first round picks for the foreseeable future.

Next. The Leafs Game that Isn't Cancelled!. dark

As long as the Toronto Maple Leafs refuse to do these five things, they should be able to compete for and win a Stanley Cup over the next several seasons.

Home / Analysis