For the first time in many seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs organization is in a good place without many questions looming.
When you look back at the last few years in Leafs Land, every single season has started with a question mark. Whether it was the possibility of Sheldon Keefe, Kyle Dubas or Brendan Shanhan’s contract’s expiring, contract talks with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander or the changing of the captain from Tavares to Matthews last year, there has always been a huge question-mark leading into the season.
You could look at Marner leaving as another distraction this season, but instead I would view it as clarity. Head coach Craig Berube and GM Brad Treliving aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and Marner’s departure has now gotten rid of the infamous “core-four” narrative which I’m super excited about never having to write again.
With one year under his belt as coach and two years as GM, we now know what that relationship looks between Berube and Treliving, and we understand the type of team they’re looking to build, and it’s exciting.
Leafs are in a great spot right now
They clearly want some skill up-front, because you need to score goals, but they’re much more focused on size, toughness and grit. The defense is huge and very tough to play against, while the additions of Dakota Joshua, Scott Laughton and Nic Roy continue to show the focus on defense and grit.
When you get rid of the distractions of whether or not Mitch Marner will be playing here after the season, or if Shanahan will be extended as the team’s President, it adds a distraction that isn’t necessary. In this market, it’s impossible to look at the present, as everyone is always looking to the future, but in my opinion, this is one of the first years where we can just appreciate the regular season and see what happens.
As much as there are question-marks in net, the tandem of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll can be good enough to win a Stanley Cup. Would we feel more comfortable with Sergie Bobrovsky in net? Absolutely. However, that’s unfortunately not a reality for this team right now and if they can continue to play hard-fought team defense, they have enough skill to be competitive.
The departure of Mitch Marner will make for less highlights on SportsCentre every night, but those highlights never resulted in a Stanley Cup. As a result, I think one less star is exactly what this market needs and the calmness after one day at training camp is a welcomed sight for this organization.