The Toronto Maple Leafs have made some moves this summer that I have been extremely critical of.
For example, the $11 million dollars spent on Reaves, Domi, Klingberg and Kampf is, I believe, a major mistake by incoming Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving.
I do, however, see a method to his madness that perhaps I didn’t previously consider.
Domi and Klingberg are on single-year deals, so the Leafs have $7 million they could swap out at the dealine pretty easily if they want to. They could bury Reaves in the AHL and Kampf could also probably be traded fairly easily.
This would give the Leafs some flexibility, not only for making moves at the deadline, but also for working in players who are currently on the verge of being NHL players and who have upside, but aren’t exactly blue-chippers the team is desperate to play.
One of the ways in which the Toronto Maple Leafs can have a dream season and finish first overall for the first time since the NHL had six teams, is for them to finally hit on some prospects.
Though this is literally true for every team, the Leafs have a whole bunch of high-potential question marks who could are close(ish) to being ready.
Should they get lucky a bonanza is possible.
Prospects Represent Possible Dream Season for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Nick Robertson and Matthew Knies both play in interesting ways. Robertson is a go-go little guy with a motor that never stops, and an elite shot. Knies is a budding Tkachuk with a low floor but the ceiling of a Tkachuk.
Should these guys both blossom this year, the Leafs could find themselves with Tyler Bertuzzi on the third line, which is the kind of insane-level depth you don’t expect for a team so famously up against the salary cap.
There are also guys like Ty Voit and Fraser Mintin who could force their way onto the team. Roni HIrvonen, Bobby McMann and to a lesser extent, Alex Steeves and Nick Abruzzese (these two are NHL players, just probably don’t have much upside).
If any of these players suddenly becomes an NHL player, or perhaps even an unexpected star, the Leafs lineup goes from contender to favorite.
On defense, there is Topi Niemela and Mikko Kokanen, neither of whom is expected to make the NHL this year, let alone ever become a star player, but who knows?
Timothy Liljegren is still young and cheap enough that a random star-turn is not out of the question. What if Connor Timmins is for real?
William Villeneuve too, who knows?
The point here is that the Toronto Maple Leafs have the potential to have a dream season if they somehow get lucky and have a few prospects break out. This won’t just help the team in the obvious way, but they would then be able to shed some salary and add another star player at the deadline.