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10 Thoughts on Life and the Toronto Maple Leafs

By Jordan Maresky

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 07: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his third period goal at 16:54 with Morgan Rielly #44, William Nylander #88, Auston Matthews #34, Zach Hyman #11 amd Mitchell Marner #16 against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 07, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 07: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his third period goal at 16:54 with Morgan Rielly #44, William Nylander #88, Auston Matthews #34, Zach Hyman #11 amd Mitchell Marner #16 against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 07, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /
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Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Thought #5: Are the Toronto Maple Leafs the deepest team in the league in net?

For most of the 2019-20 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs were searching for an adequate solution in net. With starter Frederik Andersen going through a struggling season, and backup Michael Hutchinson’s inability to give the team in front of him a solid start, it is quite remarkable just how much the Leafs accomplished under Sheldon Keefe.

But heading into 2020-21, the problems that once plagued this team from the goaltending position are no more. Down the depth chart, the Leafs are staring at Frederik Andersen – the starter, Jack Campbell – the backup, and Aaron Dell – the third-stringer, the backups’ backup, and the Marlies starter.

How many NHL teams can say they employ a bonafide number one as well as not one, but two legitimate NHL backups? The Arizona Coyotes may be the Leafs closest competition with Darcy Kuemper, Antti Raanta, and Adin Hill. The Dallas Stars could also challenge with Ben Bishop, Anton Khudobin, and Jake Oettinger. But none you could definitively say are better than the Leafs current situation.

With a condensed schedule (most likely) next season, each team is going to be playing a lot more back-to-backs. As a result, the risk of injury rises tremendously, so the need for depth at every position increases. Dubas has ensured the net is covered.

Thought #6: Mackenzie Weegar is probably not going to be a Leaf.

In Friedman’s latest “31 Thoughts”, he mentioned how the Panthers offered the Leafs MacKenzie Weegar in exchange for Travis Dermott and Andreas Johnsson, which Dubas rejected. On the podcast version, Friedman specifically said:

"“The Toronto Maple Leafs were definitely in (on MacKenzie Weegar), I think the Florida Panthers made an ask – were looking at Johnsson (since traded to NJ) and Travis Dermott, and I think Toronto turned that down and then ended up with Brodie and Bogosian”"

Because Johnsson was moved in a later trade, it is clear Dermott was the no-go part of that deal for Kyle Dubas. The Leafs are evidently really high on Dermott and want to run with him in the lineup next year.

Dubas adamantly said he will be playing the right side next season, and while that quote does not seem to fully close the door on the Weegar-to-Toronto story, the phrase “ended up with” leads me to believe Dubas wanted Weegar but not at that price and pivoted to the two other defensemen he acquired instead. This is all to say the Leafs are probably done adding to their blueline.

As for where the Newmarket, Ontario native will be playing…that leads me to my next thought.

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