The Toronto Maple Leafs are not a deep team, no matter what anyone says

The Toronto Maple Leafs are no deeper than they've been for years

Oct 12, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Max Domi (11) skates during the warmup before a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Oct 12, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Max Domi (11) skates during the warmup before a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The Toronto Maple Leafs healthy-scratched $11 million dollars last year during one of their playoff games.

The year before that, the Toronto Maple Leafs had the best roster in the NHL after adding Ryan O'Reilly to their lineup in early March.

The Leafs have been a deep team for years and years now. They are still a deep(ish) team, but this facet of their identity is being oversold by people who think that having a washed up Max Pacioretty mean the team is "deep".

The Leafs may have name-brand. players throughout their lineup, but just because they are unable to find a spot for a useful player like Calle Jarkrok doesn't necessarily make them deep.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are not a deep team, no matter what anyone says

The reason I say the Leafs aren't a deep team is because they are EXTREMELY shallow at several key positions. They may have good players at the bottom of the lineup, but if you only have 2 x NHL quality top-nine centres on your roster, how can you be deep? Same goes if you can't rely on one of your goalies, which they can't, or if don't have a legitamate #1 defenseman.

The Leafs need a 3C, desperately. Max Domi has been in the NHL for over 10 years - he is a dynamic winger, but he has an extremely long history of being replacement level at centre.

OEL is off to a good start, but NHL players just do not suddenly improve at the age of 33. He won't last as a top-four option and it's silly for the team to bank on it. Besides that, they have no number-one defender, a glaring ommision from both Kyle Dubas and Brad Treliving's roster build.

No team with Ryan Reaves on it can ever said to be "deep."

The Leafs - with the right combos - do have impressive players at the bottom of their lineup, but they also don't need to have the NHL's most expensive 4th liner (David Kampf) for any reason.

As for goaltending, Joseph Woll already looks like a bad bet and he hasn't played a single game since the Leafs executives more or less bet their careers on him. You can't be a deep team when your starting goalie has never played more than 30 games in a season and your co-starter can be injured by a strong breeze. (What happens if the Leafs end up playing in a coastal city during the playoff and Woll wanders anywhere near the ocean?).

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The Leafs have the makings of a deep team, but they are not yet there. They need to solidify their 3C, 1D and goaltending positions before they can say that they are.