The Toronto Maple Leafs had a disappointing end to their season but there are a few players they should still consider re-resigning.
When we looked at the Toronto Maple Leafs roster at the beginning of the season, they seemed to be a shoe-in to finally get out of the first round. They seemed to have a balance of skill, grit, defense, goaltending and high-end talent. And throughout the regular season, they lived up to all expectations.
They won the North Division and were one of the best teams in the NHL. Although we couldn’t compare them directly to the American teams, by all accounts, it felt like they would give a team like the Boston Bruins or Colorado Avalanche a true test in the playoffs.
The road to this happening seemed likely. After dominating their opponents in the North Division all season, they had an “easy” path towards the Final Four. Everybody looked past Montreal and assumed they would be facing the Edmonton Oilers in the Second Round.
After Edmonton got swept, making the Final Four seemed even more attainable. The Leafs were in control of their series and Winnipeg wasn’t as much of a threat as we thought Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl would be.
However, everything fell apart and the dream matchup of Toronto vs. Edmonton has now turned into Winnipeg vs. Montreal, which I won’t be watching one second of.
With the season finished, there were a number of pending free agents that performed very well this year and a few that didn’t. Before we talk about those were performed poorly, let’s look at those individuals who deserve to be brought back.
Here are four Toronto Maple Leafs players that the team should re-sign this offseason.