Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Urgent Questions Ahead of Regular Season
The Toronto Maple Leafs are days away from starting training camp, and as always, there are a ton of questions surrounding the team.
Let’s go back to May 20th, 2020. The No. 1 seeded Toronto Maple Leafs are about to face the No. 4 seeded Montreal Canadiens in the first round at home. The pandemic may have stopped fans from entering the building, but throughout the city, millions of people are watching at home, anticipating a first round victory for the first time since 2004.
Auston Matthews was a scoring machine, who had just won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, while Jack Campbell was playing like a Vezina Trophy goaltender. The team had finished 35–14–7 and after dominating the North Division all season, it felt like they were going to make, at the minimum, the Conference Finals.
As we sit today, all of those hopes of the 2020-21 season seem like a dream. The team went up 3-1 in the series against Montreal but ultimately failed in a miserable fashion, losing in seven games, at home. The one year where the team actually earned home-ice advantage was the one year where it didn’t matter and the road team had more fans in the building than the home team.
The 2021-22 season seems so weird for the Leafs right now. As a life-long fan, I almost don’t even want the campaign to begin, because I know that suffering is coming in April. Can we just fast-forward to the playoffs and get this pain over with already?
If this team falls again in the first round, I’ll seriously have to contemplate why I spend so much time watching them, but that’s one of the biggest questions of the regular season.
Does the regular season even matter this year? I mean, yes it does, because they aren’t guaranteed a playoff spot. But at the same time, nothing matters until game one of the first round, where this team needs to redeem themselves.
Auston Matthews could score 82 goals and the team could go 82-0 but if they lose in the first round again, who cares?
As we reflect on the pain and struggles of being a Leafs fan, let’s look at three burning questions surrounding this team as they get ready for the regular season.
No. 1: How’s Auston Matthews’ Wrist?
Remember when Auston Matthews had a bum-wrist last year and still won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy? Imagine what he could do this year with a fully recovered wrist?!
As you can see from the tweet below, Matthews is hopeful that he can return for game one.
“It's coming along well. It's a cpl more wks until I can get out of the splint & start really rehabbing & build my strength back ... I'm going to get back on the ice this wk. I'm really hopeful to be ready to go in Gm 1."
— Mike Zeisberger (@Zeisberger) September 13, 2021
--#Leafs Matthews re his left wrist. Had surgery Aug. 13
Although Matthews will need his wrist fully recovered to start the season, there is a positive with this injury. He’ll still be able to skate and get into game-shape while he’s rehabbing, so his speed and legs should be fine by opening night.
The fact that he waited until August 13th, 2021 to have this surgery was bizarre to me, but it’s better late than ever.
The Toronto Maple Leafs open their season on October 13th, which would be eight weeks since his initial surgery, so that should be enough time for him to get ready for opening night. However, with a full 82-game schedule set this year, Toronto should take their time with Matthews and make sure he’s 100 percent healthy before putting him in the lineup.
He’s way too valuable to risk him coming back soon, but by all accounts, Leafs fans should be hopeful that he’ll be in the lineup against the Canadiens on October 13th.
No. 2: Will Reilly Sign an Extension?
The longest reigning Toronto Maple Leafs player is Morgan Rielly but will be able to say that when the 2022-23 season starts?
Reilly is set to become an Unrestricted Free Agent at the end of this season, and it’s a little troubling that the team hasn’t signed him to an extension yet.
What are they waiting for?
The idea of trading Rielly was always more hypothetical than realistic during the regular season, because you’re not going to find many better players at his price tag for the 2021-22 season. With a $5M cap-hit, Rielly is not only a legitimate top-four NHL defenseman, but he’s a leader for this team.
There are only two scenarios that will happen with Rielly this year: He will walk as a free agent, or the team will sign him to an extension.
The salary cap may not be going up anytime soon, but Rielly deserves a contract between $6M-6.5M, so if both sides can come to an agreement in that price-tag for the next five-to-seven years, I think everyone will be happy. Rielly is only 27-years-old, so a long-term extension won’t be the worst decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as he’ll still be a valuable asset at the end of it.
Either way, letting the season play out without an extension is a terrible decision for both parties, as media members will continue to ask that question until it happens. This team doesn’t need any other distractions, so let’s hope they can come to an agreement sooner than later.
No. 3: Is Anyone Getting Traded Soon?
Ilya Mikheyev asked for a trade, but the Leafs denied his request. At $1.65M, the team values his contract and abilities as a bottom-six forward too much, although I think they should have granted him his wish.
Although Mikheyev seemed like a likely trade-asset this year, that doesn’t seems like it’s going to happen, but is anyone going to get traded instead?
Alex Kerfoot, Pierre Engvall and Travis Dermott are three players who could be on the move this year, as they all could be on the outside looking in. If David Kampf can show stability as the third-line centre, and Nick Ritchie/Michael Bunting solidify themselves in the top-six left-wing position, then Kerfoot is expendable.
He could spend time on the wing, but at $3.5M, the team could be better off trading him at the deadline for a big-time rental.
Engvall and Dermott are two other assets making over $1M that could be on their way out. Dermott’s $1.5M is a great contract, but Toronto’s defensive group is getting crowded, especially if Timothy Liljegren or Brennan Menell make a push for the sixth defensive spot.
The bottom-six is also getting busy, so Engvall could be a moveable asset, although I don’t think they should trade him.
Next. 3 Awards the Leafs Will Win Next Season. dark
Either way, there are a number of burning questions ahead of this team as the regular season gets started in less than a month.