The Toronto Maple Leafs underwent a pretty drastic roster turnover over the last number of weeks.
It is hard not to be a fan of the moves the Toronto Maple Leafs made this offseason. They solidified the defense corps, bolstered the goaltending depth, and added different elements to the bottom of the lineup, all while keeping the core together. If you include the hiring of the forward-thinking Manny Malhotra, you will be hard-pressed to find another GM who pulled off a better couple of months.
The Leafs are notorious for keeping their cards close to their chest and very few know what the front office is actually thinking, and as fans of this team, all we can do is take the information available to us and make our own predictions based on that – which is exactly what I did.
Just before the offseason began, I had written about 10 things I expected from this team over the next couple of months. Although the offseason is technically not over yet, it is pretty safe to say this is more or less the team we will see come opening night. So, with that in mind, let’s revisit what I had previously predicted for the Leafs and see how I did.
Prediction #1:
The Toronto Maple Leafs will keep their 15th overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft.
What Actually Happened: The Toronto Maple Leafs kept their 2020 first-round pick.
In Kyle Dubas’ first heist of the 2020 offseason, Kasperi Kapanen was shifted off to Pittsburgh in exchange for a package centred around the Penguins’ 2020 first-round pick. With that pick, the Leafs nabbed Russian winger Rodion Amirov.
Amirov was one of the bigger risers on draft boards in the weeks leading up to the 2020 NHL draft, and as his season has started to get underway over in Russia, he has done nothing but impress. Split between the KHL, the VHL, and some international play, Amirov has made a regular appearance on the highlight real.
While we might never know for which defensemen Kyle Dubas could have moved that pick for, it is hard to say the Leafs did not walk away sitting pretty after draft night.
Prediction #2:
Frederik Andersen returns as the Leafs starting goaltender in 2020-21.
What Actually Happened: Frederik Andersen will be returning as the Leafs starting goaltender in 2020-21.
The goaltending situation of the Toronto Maple Leafs was a very difficult one to read. On one hand, it seemed as if the Leafs were done with Andersen. There will always be a “what if” regarding his last couple of playoff series, where Andersen continued to be fooled by countless lazy shot attempts.
It was leaked through other team’s sources the Leafs were shopping the Danish netminder and if there is one thing I have learned following hockey, it is when there is smoke, there is fire.
However, pealing through the available replacements through free agency or via trade, there were not many options that were a) better than Andersen and b) cheaper than Andersen. Two goalies were able to somewhat fill both criteria in Darcy Kuemper and Matt Murray.
Kuemper would have been a nice upgrade over Andersen, especially at $500,000 less, but Arizona’s asking price was most likely astronomical – potentially at a point where Toronto would be greatly sacrificing in other key areas.
Murray could have been a decent option with him having won two Stanley Cups and being only 26 years old, but could you say he is a definite upgrade. On a shorter-term deal, he would have likely been cheaper than Andersen, however, he seems to be in a lower tier of starting goaltenders.
As the offseason continued to roll along, and the list of available netminders appeared to dwindle, it became more evident Andersen would be returning to the Leafs crease next season.