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Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 Things We’re Looking Forward To

By James Tanner

HAMILTON, ON - JANUARY 16: Alexis Lafreniere #11 of Team White skates during the 2020 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game against Team Red at FirstOntario Centre on January 16, 2020 in Hamilton, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
HAMILTON, ON - JANUARY 16: Alexis Lafreniere #11 of Team White skates during the 2020 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game against Team Red at FirstOntario Centre on January 16, 2020 in Hamilton, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs may or may not be starting training camp in a couple of weeks.

At this point, I don’t think anyone knows when the new NHL season is going to get underway. All I know is that I don’t watch football and I need sports, so the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp is something I am looking forward to a lot this year.

The main reason is the team’s astounding depth. There is so much job competition that no one has any idea who will play where or with whom.   That’s half the fun.

But it is not just the Toronto Maple Leafs – there are a whole bunch of interesting story lines in the NHL this year, so here are the top four we’re looking forward to.

4 Things We Are Looking Forward To

The first thing I am looking forward to is findout out who the Toronto Maple Leafs will use as regulars.  The third line could be Robertson- Kerfoot – Barabanov, the fourth line could be Simmonds-Engvall – Spezzza, and you still have enough good players to make a fifth line, something like Vesey- Thornton – Boyd.

With that kind of depth it’s just exciting to see what will happen.  On the defense, its the same thing.  The Leafs third pairing could be Sandin and Lehtonen, but that means that their fourth pairing could be Dermott and Bogosian.  Where does everyone play?  Who gets traded or lost on waivers?

The second thing I’m looking forward to is the all Canadian Division.  At first I was thinking that seeing the same teams all the time would be boring, but Ottawa has so many cool prospects, and the Jets, Oilers and Canucks are three of the most fun teams to watch.

Besides, I get sick of the Leafs always having to deal with Tampa and Boston, and this easy division will be a lot of fun to destroy.

The third thing I am looking forward to is seeing the Islanders crash and burn. It just drives me crazy that people are so non-critical of Lou Lamoriello despite every decision he makes being objectively terrible.  The Islanders out performing the Leafs after the Tavares heisting did make me believe in Karma, but its about time the variance ended. Expect the Leafs to finish first and NY to finish last.

Next. The Leafs Biggest Weakness?. dark

And finally, the fourth thing I look forward to is the debut of Alexis Lafreniere.  The NHL hasn’t seen a player enter the league this good since Auston Matthews, and that’s always exciting.  I’ve been hoping to score one of his Young Guns too, so that’s a bonus fifth thing.

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