The Toronto Maple Leafs are very fortunate to be playing in an All-Canadian division this season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are clearly the best team in Canada, right? Maybe I’m bias, but I can’t see anyone finishing higher than them, especially this year.
Even in a difficult season, the Leafs finished with an 8-3-4 record against their Canadian opponents last year and I’d expect that to continue this season. Typically stuck in the tough Atlantic Division with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins, Toronto has still finished with two 100-point seasons in the past three years.
The Leafs playoff success has struggled because of the division they’ve played in. For example, in the 2017-18 season, Toronto finished third in the Eastern Conference in points, but still had to play the Boston Bruins, who finished second in points, in the First Round. The same thing happened in 2018-19 when Toronto finished fifth in points, and Boston finished second.
It didn’t matter how many points each team had based on the Conference, but instead only mattered against their division. So, even though the Leafs were one of the best teams in the Conference, they got screwed over by having to play the Bruins year-after-year. In the old NHL where it was #1 vs. #8, the Leafs would have had a much inferior opponent in the First Round, would’ve most likely gained home-ice advantage and we probably wouldn’t still talking about their playoff struggles.
Now that the Leafs have gotten out of that miserable division, the team has a true shot at playoff glory.
All-Canadian Re-Alignment is a Blessing For Leafs Fans
It’s unclear right now how many teams will make the playoffs in each division, but I’d have to imagine they stick to their typical routine of the top-three seeds in each division and two wild-card teams. If you look at the Leafs opponents every night, there’s nobody that should scare them.
All-Canadian Standings (2019-20 Season)
- Edmonton Oilers: 37-25-9: 83 Points (71 Games)
- Toronto Maple Leafs: 36-25-9: 81 Points (70 games)
- Winnipeg Jets: 37-28-6: 80 Points (71 Games)
- Calgary Flames: 36-27-7: 79 Points (70 Games)
- Vancouver Canucks: 36-27-6: 78 Points (69 Games)
- Montreal Canadiens: 31-31-9: 71 Points (71 Games)
- Ottawa Senators: 25-34-12: 62 Points (71 Games)
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a terrible start to the season and still finished with the second most points of any Canadian team. With a full year of Sheldon Keefe and some great additions to the line-up, there’s no reason why the Leafs can’t dominate this division.
It’s not guaranteed win-night every game, but if the team doesn’t finish as the top-seed, it’ll be a disappointment.
I’m incredibly excited for an All-Canadian match-up every night and the animosity between these teams is going to be through the roof. By mid-March, players are going to hate each other, which should make for some entertaining hockey, and I can’t wait.