10 Thoughts on Life and the Toronto Maple Leafs

Thought #3: So much for the Leafs cap problems.

For the past two seasons, ever since the Toronto Maple Leafs inked John Tavares, all we have heard surrounding this team is how they are in “cap hell.” What we have seen this offseason is Kyle Dubas, who supposedly is in the worst cap situation in the league, move Kasperi Kapanen for an absolute haul and ship off Andreas Johnsson in exchange for the New Jersey Devil’s number #3 ranked prospect.

Julien BriseBois, GM of the reigning Stanley Cup champions, has three key RFAs to sign – Anthony Cirelli, Erik Cernak, and Mikhail Sergachev – with just under $3 million in cap space.

Just before free agency opened, the Lightning tried to move Tyler Johnson, a great middle-six center, but there were no takers. Tampa Bay got desperate and even waived the center and still there were no takers. They are in such a difficult cap position, they even approached captain Steven Stamkos – who has an $8.5 million cap hit – to see if he would waive his no-trade clause.

Similarly, GM Kelly McCrimmon of the Vegas Golden Knights wanted to make a big splash in free agency this offseason. Safe to say he did so but at what cost? He was forced to move on from Paul Stastny in exchange for Carl Dahlstrom and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. Nate Schmidt, an A-level, first pairing defensemen, was shipped off for a lowly 3rd round pick in the 2022 draft.

Across the NHL, GMs have had incredibly difficult times trying to move money around, but Kyle Dubas stands atop the league, having arguably gained value in his perceived “cap dump” deals.

It would seem that the critics were wrong when they complained about the Leafs salary cap situation.

Thought #4: What is everyone’s problem with Joe Thornton?

Now that Joe Thornton is officially a Leaf, I have one question – why did some not want this to happen? Who does not want to see Joe Thornton, standing on the blueline in front of a sold-out Scotiabank Arena – assuming we have fans then – as Gary Bettman calls up John Tavares as he comes to receive Lord Stanley on behalf of the Leafs and watch as the first handoff goes to the 22-year NHL veteran, ‘Jumbo’ Joe. What a surreal moment that would be.

Apart from the phenomenal storyline, Thornton is still an effective player. I do not think it is fair to judge him based on his 2019-20 season. The Sharks as a whole struggled and he was anchored down by Marcus Sorensen & Kevin Labanc, who struggled as well. But his 2018-19 season? Thornton was flat-out dominant on both ends of the ice.

It is safe to assume Thornton would be also tasked with easier minutes in Toronto. Playing 15:30 minutes a night last season in San Jose certainly attributed to Thornton’s struggles. With some rough estimations, Thornton will probably be asked for 10-12 minutes a night. That type of reduced ice time could drastically increase his effectiveness.

Now that ‘Jumbo’ Joe will officially be wearing the Blue and White this season, get ready for one of the best storylines to take place in front of our eyes in 2020-21.