The Toronto Maple Leafs need to recognize that this team isn't good enough to win a Stanley Cup before it's too late.
William Nylander is on-pace for 100 points, while John Tavares and Auston Matthews are inching towards 40-goal seasons, yet this Leafs team isn't very good. Besides the core-four, this roster has a ton of holes in the bottom-six and is filled with injuries.
If Chris Tanev and Anthony Stolarz return from injury, the Leafs added a top-six forward (maybe someone like Mitch Marner...) and Joseph Woll turns into prime Patrick Roy, then this Leafs team has a chance at a strong playoff run, but that's a tall task.
In two games, Woll has looked great with a 2.45 GAA and .934 SV%. However, Woll's best asset is another strong goalie beside him. Woll's health has been a concern his entire career, so relying on him to play every night is a scary thought for this team. It's possible that he stays healthy the rest of the year and plays 50 games this year, but based on his history, he's most likely to miss more time down the road, which is terrifying with Stolarz currently out of the line-up.
Toronto still has 75 percent of their entire season remaining, so there's a lot of hockey left to change the season, but after 10 years of Auston Matthews and William Nylander, why would anything different happen even if they made the playoffs? Are these players going to magically turn into the best playoff performers of all-time, or will they just lose in the First Round again?
Leafs need to accept this is a season of disaster
The Eastern Conference isn't as strong as the west, but their play thus far, and recent history would suggest that the Leafs will lose to Tampa Bay, Florida, Boston and/or Ottawa if they ended up facing them in the First Round.
Toronto's best chance to win a Stanley Cup came during the "All-Canadian Division" followed by the 2022-23 season where they traded for Ryan O'Reilly. That 2023 season was special and that roster should have gone further than they did, but unfortunately the Ilya Samsonov injury really hurt.
As we look at this roster and figure out how good they are, the Leafs may need to take one step backwards to take two steps forward because their prospect pool is shallow and their draft picks are bare. They are in win-now mode with a team that isn't good enough to win, so the smart thing would be to re-tool and start over.
They tried this before and it worked by gaining Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, and although they never won a Stanley Cup, they were at least very competitve. This version of the Leafs needs a few Entry Level Contracts to turn into superstars, which unfortunately don't look like it'll happen any time soon.
I'm sure MLSE boss Keith Pelley wants a Stanley Cup more than anyone but if he's a smart executive, he'd understand that drastic changes need to happen and important players need to get traded for that to happen. As a result, let's hope something crazy happens soon because the culture and roster needs to change because this team isn't great, or fun to watch.