Toronto Maple Leafs: Key Role Players for the 2021 Season

The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to become one of the NHL’s top contenders.

We know Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner will shine as two of the teams stars, but who will shine among the depth options that the Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired this off-season?

For the past four years the  Leafs have been too reliant on their top players to produce at very high levels. This offseason, Kyle Dubas has done a great job of solidifying key depth pieces at very low prices to help lessen the load on the top line players. With that being said, who do the Toronto Maple Leafs need to exceed at a cheap price?

Here is a look at the top candidates.

Jack Campbell:

Campbell, 28, is set to become the first reliable backup goalie Frederik Andersen has had since Curtis McElhinney in the 2016-17 season. Campbell was a first round pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft and while he has not lived up to the hype of being the 11th overall pick, he is a very solid backup goalie.

When Kyle Dubas made the decision to acquire Campbell last season, Leafs fans rejoiced as the backup at the time, Michael Hutchinson, had been struggling throughout the season with a 4-9-1 record. Campbell had a 3-2-1 record with the Leafs and played extremely well, even when the defense were missing key players in Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin.

If Campbell is able to play like he did last year and win upwards of 50% of his games, he will significantly take the load off of Frederik Andersen. Hopefully Andersen will not have to play upwards of 60 games like he has each year since becoming Maple Leaf, with the exception of last season.

Mikko Lehtonen

Mikko Lehtonen was the big ticket European free agent this past season. Lehtonen, 26, is a six foot, 200 pound defenseman who is the reigning KHL defenseman of the year. He shoots left but plays regularly on the right side where the Leafs need help.

Though Lehtonen is noted as being an offensive defenseman, he plays a strong two-way game. He is hard on the puck in the defensive zone, is great at breaking out and should be the lone defenseman on the second powerplay unit.

If Lehtonen adjusts to becoming a top four defenseman in Toronto, the Leafs could have a stifling defensive core. The best part about this signing is that he is only making $925,000 and if his game does not translate well on North American ice, he can be sent down to the Marlies to develop, as the Maple Leafs have an influx of depth/young defenseman.

Alexander Kerfoot

Alexander Kerfoot was acquired with Tyson Barrie in the Nazem Kadri trade with the Colorado Avalanche. In an up and down first season with the Leafs, Kerfoot played very well at centre and played some of his best hockey for the Maple Leafs in the Columbus series.

Kerfoot is still only 26 years old and is set to become the Leafs third line centre. While he might not put up 50 points, his forechecking and penalty killing skills will make him a key defensive forward for the team this season.

While Kerfoot’s line-mates are to be determined during training camp, I believe he would succeed best with Nicholas Robertson and Wayne Simmonds. This would be a great line with offensive and defensive capabilities. Regardless, no matter who Kerfoot plays with this season, he will be a large part of the potential success of the bottom six.

The Tampa Bay Lightning proved that a team needs everyone to do their part in a season, stars and depth. If Campbell, Lehtonen and Kerfoot are all able to shine in depth roles with the team, then the Toronto Maple Leafs will have the most depth and potential success they have had in years.