3 Reasons Why Toronto Maple Leafs Will Win Stanley Cup

Reason No. 1: The New Auston Matthews Line

Auston Matthews is not only one of the best players in the NHL, but if he can win a few team trophies, he could end up being looked at higher than Alex Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby. I know that's crazy to think but he now has two 60-goal seasons, with a chance to reach 70 this year, and no reason to believe he'll slow down over the next few years.

Playing alongside someone like Mitch Marner or William Nylander will help you score, but Matthews has shown that he can do it beside Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, which is huge for this team.

I've always hated that this team stacked Matthews, Marner, Nylander and John Tavares all within the top-six and much rather preferred them between three lines, and thanks to Matthews' continuous strong play, it looks like that's going to happen in the playoffs.

By keeping Domi and Bertuzzi with Matthews, the Leafs will now have the ability to keep Marner or Nylander on the third-line, which gives this team incredible depth.

They now have an elite player on all three lines, and won't sacrifice defensive play if they keep Marner on that third-line role. I know that can be considered a downgrade for Marner, but he's been here for seven years and hasn't won. If playing on the third line can help the overall team win a Stanley Cup, he needs to be happy with it.

Not only does depth help, but Matthews seems like an unstoppable force this year, more than ever. As such, I don't see him slowing down and if he keeps this up, he could be chasing another record: goals in a playoff. Reggie Leach scored 19 goals in 16 playoff games during their run in 1975-76, and if the Leafs do in fact win a Stanley Cup this year, I have to believe Matthews will get close to that number, or even break it.