Thoughts on the Toronto Maple Leafs from an 8 Year Old Super Fan

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been eliminated now for a few weeks and we’ve all had time to come to terms with the team’s latest failure.

The Stanley Cup Final is ongoing, and while we wait for the Toronto Maple Leafs to swing the off-season into full gear with the draft, free agency and some trades, we’ve been making due with news about the team’s assistant coach and fourth line.

One person who is very much looking forward to next season is my son Holden, who is eight-years old and is perhaps the biggest Leafs fan in existence.  His favorite player is Morgan Rielly and I thought that his optimism and belief in his heroes may be a nice antidote to the constant bitterness of Leaf fans who have are used to going home disappointed.

Here, in his own words, is Holden and his take on the Toronto Maple Leafs heading into the 2021 off-season.

A Kid’s Perspective on the Leafs by Holden Tanner

Well the Leafs had a good run this season, but the game to game play needs improvement. The Leafs both deserved and should have won the best of seven series against the Habs. The Habs won all but the series against the Jets with dumb luck.

Next year is going to be tough for Toronto with them having to give up a player to the Kraken  and the possibility of Thornton’s retirement.  But Simmonds is signed and I think he has the potential of generating scoring chances.  I’m hoping that because of multiple failed round 1 playoff chances in a row, plus 54 years since their most recent Cup win, that they don’t blow up the team.

There’s no chance they’ll scrap Matthews!

I say this because he scored 42 GOALS IN 56 GAMES!!! Outrageous!  And he and Marner are an ace duo. You can’t scrap Marner either! The Leafs need some luck next playoffs, they need to win. So…the Leafs are bound to win next year, if….

They make Jack Campbell the starter, try to sign Luke Hughes, and try to get Andreas Johnson back, and if Keefe changes his coaching style and calls more timeouts and starts taking questions from the players. If they do all that,  then the Toronto Maple Leafs would be one of the best teams in the 2021-2022 season.

Also, my favorite player is the best defenseman on the team – Morgan Rielly.  The Toronto Maple Leafs should not trade him because, again, he’s the best defenseman on the team. He’s also one of the highest scoring defenseman in the NHL! So don’t trade Rielly, Matthews or Marner.

And, ABSOLUTELY don’t blow up the team! If Dubas reads this article, he’d  know it could work.  I am a CHILD and I think, no, I know this could work.

By Holden.