3 Key Lessons the Toronto Maple Leafs Can Take Away from the Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers playoff success provides important insights for the Toronto Maple Leafs given the similarities in their roster construction and team philosophy.
The Toronto Maple Leafs can learn three lessons from the Edmonton Oilers' most recent playoff run.
The Edmonton Oilers went on a magical run playoff run that put them within reach of Canada’s first Stanley Cup since 1993 and are currently the envy of all other Canadian teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Despite the disappointing loss for Edmonton fans and those hoping for a Canadian team to win, the Oilers’ season provides some interesting takeaways for the Leafs.
So, let’s take a look at three key lessons the Leafs can take away from the Edmonton Oilers’ run of 2024.
3 Key Lessons the Toronto Maple Leafs Can Take Away from the Oilers
#1: It’s possible to succeed with a top-heavy team
The Oiler’s roster consists of a core group of players led by captain Connor McDavid. His second-in-command is Leon Draisaitl, with fifty-goal scorer Zach Hyman and top-tier defenseman Evan Bouchard rounding out the group.
Now, there could be plenty out there who question that the Maple Leafs core is comparable to the Oilers’. The fact is that Auston Matthews and William Nylander are essentially 100-point players. Mitch Marner is still one of the best all-round players in the NHL, with 100-point potential.
Then, there’s John Tavares. Despite Father Time slowing him down, Tavares still put up great numbers last year. Also, Morgan Rielly is as good as they come on the blue line, though there may be questions about him being a legitimate top-pairing defenseman.
#2: There’s No Need for an Elite Goaltender
No offense to Stuart Skinner. He’s a solid goaltender.
However, he’s not a Vezina-calibre goaltender, at least not yet. While he arguably outperformed Sergei Bobrovsky in this year’s Cup Final, the fact that Skinner played well enough to keep Edmonton above water.
Skinner shows that teams don’t need a superstar goalie to win.
The Colorado Avalanche did it with Darcy Kuemper. The Vegas Golden Knights did it with Adin Hill.
Of course, I’m not saying that the Leafs can win it all with Joseph Woll in net. But I am saying that it’s within the realm of possibility for the Leafs to make a run with a netminder such as Woll behind them.
The key here is that as long as the Maple Leafs get solid goaltending, they could make a long playoff run.
But there’s a caveat: The defense in front of the goalie needs to be solid. There can’t be any silly mistakes or mental gaffes. Otherwise, the opposition can make the Leafs pay. Unfortunately, that’s happened all too often for Toronto.
So, if the Leafs want to roll the dice with Woll, they can. But the catch is that the D in front of him needs to be its absolute best.
#3: Teams Don’t Need to be Defensive-minded, but They Need to Play Defense
The Oilers aren’t exactly what I would call a defensive-minded team.
But they played defense well enough to lock games down when it mattered the most.
The Oilers proved that in the Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. The Oilers won low-scoring games by tightening up their defense when it mattered in the third period.
Playing defense when it counts is something the Leafs were unable to do at times under Sheldon Keefe. There were plenty of instances of blown leads and mental lapses when leading in the third period. That attitude has to stop.
Though, to be fair, the Leafs played a series of great 2-1 games against Boston and nearly beat a better team despite their power-play going missing and their greatest strength - their offense - deserting them at the worst time.
The hope is that Craig Berube can keep the club focused and accountable for a full sixty minutes. That approach means playing tight hockey when leading after two periods.
manual
Sure, it’s fun to watch elite players like Matthews and Nylander wheel and deal. But if there’s one thing the Oilers proved, it’s that teams must play solid defense to win in the postseason.