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5 Biggest Questions Surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs

By Stephen Nixon

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 07: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his game winning goal at 13:10 in overtime to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 07, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 07: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his game winning goal at 13:10 in overtime to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 07, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – DECEMBER 27: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs   (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

#5. Will the Leadership Changes Make a Difference?

The Toronto Maple Leafs got a little older this offseason when they acquired some veteran talent, but will they make a huge difference? In terms of the new additions 30-years-old or over, here are the following players the team added:

The Leafs wanted to address their leadership and the biggest addition of those four was clearly Joe Thornton. And by the sounds of it, he’s not going to have a small role on the team this year. Sheldon Keefe announced that “Jumbo” will be starting the season on the first line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

Although he’ll probably only play 15 minutes a night, the majority of his ice-time will be played with two of the best players in the NHL. Personally, I think he’s going to have a great year paired besides those superstars and will play an even bigger role in the room. He’s a player who’s won Gold Medals and has been apart of great teams before and understands what it takes to win, despite never getting a Stanley Cup ring.

T.J. Brodie is another player who’s going to be key to the success of the team’s defensive structure. He’ll be the best player that Morgan Rielly has ever played with, so I’d expect Rielly to return to his old-self of two years ago. Simmonds and Bogosian will play much smaller roles on the team, but will have an impact in the dressing room as well.

Overall, the additions are great and I can’t see how any of them will hurt the Leafs. They all joined the Toronto Maple Leafs to win a Stanley Cup and they’ll do anything it takes to get there.

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