Can The Toronto Maple Leafs Really Win the Stanley Cup?

With the NHL season right around the corner, many Toronto Maple Leafs fans are asking, “Can this team actually win the Stanley Cup?”  The answer is short but complicated.

Of course, the Toronto Maple Leafs can win the Stanley Cup this season.

They boast a very strong roster with plenty of star power, as well as many of this offseason’s additions will give the team a brand-new look.

However, winning a Cup involves a lot more than just having some strong players. While the Leafs forward group looks very strong, their defense and goaltending both have a few red flags.

Also, playing in the league’s deepest division doesn’t help, as it will be a gauntlet in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Regardless, let’s take a look at the Leafs current team and decide if they’re strong enough to win a Stanley Cup.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Can They Really Win the Cup?

Forwards

The Leafs forward group is clearly their strong point. With the additions of Tyler Bertuzzi and Matthew Kniews (and possibly Max Domi) to this year’s lineup, the Leafs might have one of, if not the best top-6 groups in the entire NHL.

The only issue for me is the 3rd-line centre position, where currently David Kampf is assumed to be taking that spot in the lineup. I have no issues with Kampf, but I think he’s better off as a fourth-line centre for the Leafs as opposed to the third.

Max Domi is an option for the 3rd-line centre role, but obviously training camp has a way of upsetting even the most obvious set-ups.

Defense

The Leafs defense group is fine, but not fantastic.  They lack depth, and the group as a whole is still missing a true No. 1 d-man

I love Morgan Rielly, but he isn’t an elite player any longer. In the 2023 playoffs, he was one of the Leafs best players(if not their best), but in the regular season, he was very inconsistent.

The Leafs did add John Klingberg, who would have been a #1 back in 2018. While he still may be useful, he’s not quite the player he once was.

In short, the Leafs blueline is solid but not quite the caliber of a Cup champion (such as Colorado, Vegas, or Tampa Bay in recent years).

Goaltending

While some may not love the current goaltending situation, I think the Leafs have some of the top goaltending depth in the league.

Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll are both strong goalies who are young and have a ton of upside. Both netminders also showed they were capable of stealing games last season, and will look to do so again this year.

Will either one of these goalies win a Vezina Trophy? Probably not. But multiple recent Stanley Cup winners have shown that a Vezina-caliber goalie is not needed to win, rather a hot goalie at the right moment.

The perfect example is Adin Hill, who had been mainly a backup for his entire career before having a terrific playoff run and winning a cup this year with Vegas.

So, can the Leafs win the Stanley Cup next year? I think they have a shot, however, there are probably 5 or 6 better teams out there that have stronger rosters.

The Leafs will need some work (especially on defense) if they want to win that Cup. It’s not impossible, but definitely won’t be an easy task.

Let’s see how they do next season.