Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube should be a Jack Adams finalist at the very least. Berube has successfully led a radical transformation in which the Leafs went from a high-flying, loosey-goosey offensive team to a well-balanced, disciplined club.
That transformation included morphing the Leafs into a physical, defense-first team with enough offensive weapons to produce high-octane numbers. Those who believed that the Leafs’ offense would vaporise under Berube, would be interested to know that the Leafs have six different 20-goal scorers.
Among those 20-goal scorers, Matthew Knies has emerged as the real deal. He’s the type of power forward the Leafs have never truly had. Plus, Mitch Marner is fifth in the league in scoring, William Nylander is second in the league in goals, while Auston Matthews has 68 points in 59 games.
Moreover, John Tavares has had a terrific, resurgent season, notching 35 goals and 69 points in 67 games. All while gradually turning 34 this season.
That offensive output has the Leafs tied for seventh in the league with the Carolina Hurricanes at 3.26 goals per game. The Leafs also have the fifth-best power play in the league at 26.2%, all while showing a decent 2.93 goals-against per game and ranking their penalty kill at 78.3%.
Yes, the goals-per-game and penalty kill could be better, but when you look at the overall picture, not many teams can boast the number the Leafs do. Only Winnipeg is top three in goals against and goals for this season.
Kudos to the Jets for pulling that feat off this season. But the fact is that regular-season success is one thing. Playoff success is another. Unfortunately, that’s the yardstick by which the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs will be measured by.
Craig Berube should be a finalist for the Jack Adams, and even if he wins it, it will mean nothing unless the Leafs succeed in the playoffs.
What does playoff success look like for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
So, let’s define what playoff success would look like for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The short answer is winning the Stanley Cup. If the Leafs win the Cup, everything will be glorious and Berube will go down as one of the all-time greats, if not the best Leafs coach of all time.
Now, I say that because it’s been so long since a Leafs coach has led the team to the Cup. Plus, it’s been two decades since the incredible playoff runs Toronto had in the early 2000s. So, a Cup win likely bolts Berube to the top of the list of all-time greatest Leafs coaches.
But short of a Stanley Cup win, what would qualify as playoff success for the Leafs? In my estimation, the Leafs need to reach the Cup Final at the very least. Falling short in the Eastern Conference Final won’t be enough to quell the thirst for glory in Leafs Nation.
If Toronto falls short of a Stanley Cup Final appearance, we’ll spend the entire summer nit-picking at what went wrong. The internet will be filled with discussion on minutiae about how a disallowed goal in November cost the Leafs the Cup or how a shot off the post could have changed the team’s fortunes.
The fact is that the Leafs must exorcise their demons and win it all. It won’t matter if Marner leaves via free agency in the summer. Getting a Cup will be enough to put the torches and pitchforks away.
In the meantime, we’re barrelling toward an incredible two weeks of April as the regular season winds down.