The Toronto Maple Leafs have been a disaster since Kyle Dubas was fired.
It's clear now that Brad Treliving is a terrible GM and that Brendan Shanahan's main job was to prevent Kyle Dubas from being better at his. But Dubas was so good that even though he's been gone for two off-seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs are about to embark on their most exciting season since 2016 and it's all because of him.
Easton Cowan was selected by Kyle Dubas' head scout, at the draft that Brad Treliving wasn't allowed to attend. I'm not saying Treliving didn't have an input, but I highly doubt the Leafs would have made a different pick if Dubas had successfully stolen Shanahan's job. Clearly a lot of work goes into a draft and Treliving wasn't the GM for long enough for the Leafs to have changed directions at his behest.
Cowan, along with a bunch of other Dubas homeruns are what make this season so exciting.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Most Exciting Season since Matthews was a Rookie
The Leafs have blessed us with a competitive team for the better part of a decade, only to prove to be the unluckiest playoff team (or at leat on par with the early 90s Buffalo Bills) in the history of any of the four major North American Professional Sports.
But that is past, and presently the Leafs have a very unique and criminally underreported situation that should make this the most exciting hockey season of our lives:
The Leafs have three veterans who are hanging on to their eliteness by the skin of their teeth. (Reilly, Tavares, Tanev).
The Leafs have three superstars (Nylander, Marner, Matthews), two of whom are among the top ten players alive. (Marner and Matthews).
And finally, the Leafs have four exciting players on the verge of stardom who can contribute at dirt-cheap prices (Knies, Cowan, Roberston, Woll).
These ten players combine to make this the most exciting team the Leafs have deployed since Matthews still had all his hair. The reason it's so exciting is that youth is the most exciting thing about sports. Young players with upside just give fans the most hope and that's what it's all really about.
When you put that hope in the context of what you need to win in the NHL Salary Cap Era, the Leafs are in a fantastic position. They have elite talent, which is the hardest thing to get. They have veteren leadership that is still not in full decline. Those two things are hard to combine, but this isn't the first time the Leafs have done so.
What makes this roster special is that those two things exist in combination with the hardest thing for already-competitive teams to get: young players with star potential that can contribute on entry-level (or similar) contracts.
Not that I don't expect them to screw it up. We're talking about the Leafs after all, so expect Cowan to be cut, expected Robertson to start on the fourth line, and for Max Pacioretty and Calle Jarkrok to take their minutes. The Leafs are so dumb they will probably start Anthony Stolarz in game one of the season.
But, that's just the Leafs fan in me talking. The guy who is otherwise optimistic about all other facets of life says this is the best team they've iced in years and the most exciting one since Matthews was a rookie.