Toronto Maple Leafs: Forecasting the NHL’s 5 Best Teams in 2021-22
By James Tanner
I think that the Toronto Maple Leafs are the league’s most intriguing team this season.
The reason I think this, is because: The Toronto maple Leafs have one of the NHL’s best rosters, they are one of the top ranked Sports Book bets to win the Cup, and they are coming off a season in which they won their division and finished 2.5 wins behind the President’s Trophy winning Colorado Avalanche.
At the same time, they’re coming off an epic playoff collapse that seemed to put a punctuation mark on 55 years of not winning the Stanley Cup. Their fan base is frustrated, apathetic and out of patience.
Understandably so.
It is this juxtaposition of fan apathy and a great roster that makes them the most intriguing team in hockey.
Will they finally put their demons to rest?
Will they capitulate and force their fans to riot?
Only time will tell. But in the meantime, let’s check out their main competition for the Stanley Cup this season. Here are my predictions for the NHL’s top five teams, as of today. I wanted to avoid just listing last year’s standings, so I tried to factor in off-season moves, as well as players getting better or declining. (info from capfriendly.com).