The Toronto Maple Leafs Path to the Cup Requires Young Players

The Toronto Maple Leafs had to make some moves last season that they probably didn’t think were going to be necessary, but which were because they didn’t have any quality rookies fighting for jobs.

When the Toronto Maple Leafs decided to go with a studs and duds philosophy (i.e paying as many stars as possible and filling out the roster with cheaper players) they probably anticipated that they would be supplementing the roster with players on entry-level deals instead of grizzled veterans.

They couldn’t do that though, because the drafts where they scored all their elite talent didn’t produce very many quality players outside the top picks.  Besides Nick Robertson and Rasmus Sandin – both of whom spent much of the last year injured – they didn’t have any NHL ready rookies who could fight for ice time.

That meant signing Thornton, Bogosian, Vesey, Simmonds, and sticking with the likes of Brooks, Petan, Agostino, bringing in Galchenyuk, Foligno and Nash. To be sure, some of those guys would have signed anyways, but the point here is that without the high upside of a potential player, you’re not giving yourself much room for error.

Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Develop a Star

The Leafs, playoff implosion aside,  ultimately still had one of the best years in the history of their franchise, so it didn’t matter too much.  But if we are asking how do the Leafs get better from here? How do they improve their team with their current strategy and the flat cap? Then the answer is to have some rookies breakthrough into the lineup.

This isn’t an exact science, because you can’t really predict when (or even if) a prospect will move into the top of the lineup.  Regardless, it’s a necessity.  Nearly every team you can think of who was successful in the cap era for a prolonged period of time scored a star core-player from the second round or lower.  Detroit, LA, Pittsburgh, Boston, Vancouver, Washington, Chicago, and Tampa have all done it.  The last player the Leafs turned into a star outside of the first round was Tomas Kaberle, and that was 25 years ago.

The Leafs will likely compete for another division title next year regardless, because their core is among the best in the league.  But if they have any hope of surpassing the likes of Tampa and Colorado, they’ve got to get a star turn from Rasmus Sandin, Nick Robertson or someone else who forces his way onto the team in the fall.

The Leafs last three drafts have not had time to fully pan out, but nearly every expert has rated them extremely high.  If, as is the plan, the Toronto Maple Leafs can create a constant pipeline of NHL quality prospects, they will truly see the benefit of their salary cap structure.

If Nick Robertson can play in the top six, or if Rasmus Sandin can become a 20 minute a night positive impact defenseman, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be a very good team next year.  If they both do it, they’ll be unstoppable.