Defense
It’s been so many years since I have been able to say this with a straight face: The Toronto Maple Leafs have a good defense.
There aren’t any glaring weak spots or albatrosses. T.J. Brodie has been the epitome of steadiness and consistency; Justin Holl has looked like a top-four defenseman almost all year and Jake Muzzin is a smart, grizzled, physical veteran, which can also be said verbatim for Zach Bogosian.
Morgan Rielly is on pace for over 50 points and is eating up nearly 24 minutes per game while Travis Dermott is a perfectly adequate #5. Ben Hutton, acquired from the Ducks at the deadline, provides quality depth and may challenge Dermott for that #5 spot. He averaged over 18 minutes this year and is a decent asset on the penalty kill.
Goaltending
Jack Campbell recently won his 10th straight start, eclipsing the consecutive win mark set by none other than Felix Potvin in his 1993-94 campaign and has just set a record with his 11th straight win, after beating the Sens Saturday night.
Campbell has played in only 13 games all season and owns a GSAA of 5, to complement a .922 save % and a 2.19 GAA. Quite frankly, Campbell has been mm mm GREAT, although he’s scuffled recently and may still be an injury risk. His back-up will now be David Rittich, another Leafs trade deadline acquisition, who has put up decent numbers in multiple starts for the Calgary Flames the last four years. He should be a capable #2 and is a fair bit safer than Michael Hutchinson.
Outlook
Obviously there are limitations when comparing a team nearly 30 years apart in a league that has drastically changed over the course of those years. But, on paper, this 2021 squad should have the tools to at least challenge what the 1993 counterpart accomplished and the path to the Finals will never have so few obstacles again.
This team is already out of excuses and the future is now so if any of these guys has an internal switch that can engage playoff-Gilmour mode, now is the time to turn that on.