3 Reasons Why Toronto Maple Leafs Will Win Stanley Cup
Reason No. 3: Because They're Not Supposed To This Year
Once the Leafs fired Kyle Dubas and we watched Brad Treliving have one of the worst offseasons of all-time, we spit on this team and said that they had no chance at winning.
Fast-forward eight months and Ryan Reaves looks like a legt fourth-liner, while Bertuzzi and Domi are paired beside Matthews on the top-line.
As previously mentioned, the Leafs' defense is still an issue, but that's what they said about the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017. Their defense was also abysmal, but they had Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and two solid goaltenders to get the job done, which is kind of where Toronto stands right now.
When it comes to Stanley Cup favorites, the Leafs are a good team, but they should not be favorites. The New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers should all be expected to do better than the Leafs.
If they were somehow able to get out of the Eastern Conference, they would then still have to beat most likely one of Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Golden Knights or Edmonton Oilers, which seems impossible.
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We all joke that "this is the year" but of all the seasons, it's safe to assume that this year seems like the least likely chance they actually have. As a result, when it's less likely to happen, professional sports have a funny way of doing the opposite, which is why the Leafs will have their best playoff performance since 1967 this year.