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Toronto Maple Leafs: Revisiting Some 2020 Offseason Predictions

By Jordan Maresky

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: General manager Kyle Dubas of the Toronto Maple Leafs looks on during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: General manager Kyle Dubas of the Toronto Maple Leafs looks on during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Mar 8, 2020; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton (19) w. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 8, 2020; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton (19) w. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports /

Prediction #3:  

Joe Thornton replaces Jason Spezza as the Leafs 4C

What Actually Happened: Both Joe Thornton and Jason Spezza signed with the Leafs.

Leading up to the start of free agency, I was all over the Thornton to the Toronto Maple Leafs hype train. Looking past the 2019-20 season, as the Sharks struggled mightily as a whole, ‘Jumbo’ Joe had an incredibly productive 2018-19 season and has been producing at a higher rate than Spezza has over the last three years.

Looking at both players’ raw stats, Thornton has been a significantly better point producer since the 2017-18 season, averaging 0.7 goals/60 and 2.3 points/60 compared to Spezza’s 0.57 goals/60 and 1.77 points/60. (stats evolving-hockey.com).

Signing both players did not seem to be a viable option to me because it is hard to imagine an effective fourth line with two ageing bodies taking up two-thirds of the available spots. Both players seem to excel with quicker, speedier wingers flanking the two centermen, and with them playing alongside each other, I worried the Leafs would not have been receiving full value from both signings.

The skeptic in me is still waiting to see how Thornton as the Leafs 3C plays out, but for now, ‘Jumbo’ Joe suiting up for the Blue and White cannot come any sooner.

Prediction #4:

Travis Dermott is traded – on one condition.

What Actually Happened: Travis Dermott re-signed with the Leafs on a one-year, $874,125 contract.

The Travis Dermott contract negotiations were always going to be tricky to forecast. The perfect model of a tools vs. toolbox type of player, Dermott has all the potential to become a fantastic top four defensemen in this league.

But several times during the 2019-20 season, Dermott was given the opportunity to show he was there in his development, however, squandered the chance every time. None more significant than when Jake Muzzin went down with an injury during the Columbus series and Dermott was just unable to answer the bell for head coach Sheldon Keefe.

All this seemed to spell Dermott had played his last game in Toronto – but on one condition. Dermott is from Newmarket, Ontario and as a Toronto kid, being drafted by the Leafs and as an RFA, he chose to accept his qualifying offer of $874,125 – or a one-year offer of the equivalent salary. In this case, it is easy to see how the Leafs could add to the right side of their blueline will keeping Dermott in the fold as well.

Now, with the right side improved and Dermott determined to prove his doubters wrong, the Leafs’ top-six defense group is shaping up to be one of the more competitive training camp battles for Keefe and Co.

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