All Toronto Maple Leafs fans should be paying attention to the Marlies run to the Calder Cup Final, which begins Friday.
The Leafs have had success with the likes of Bobby McMann, Joseph Woll, Pontus Holmberg, and others graduating from the Toronto Marlies program to being strong contributors at the NHL level, and this current edition of the Marlies looks like they're doing just that this year.
If the Leafs are looking to fill the bottom of their roster for next season, they're better off looking to build from within rather than spending money in free agency.
The Toronto Marlies roster is loaded with potential NHLers for next season, and it's imperative that the Maple Leafs take advantage of that.
Toronto Marlies proving Maple Leafs organizational depth is just fine
Against all odds, the Toronto Marlies have made the Calder Cup Finals, despite being the 7th-seeded team in the AHL's Eastern Conference.
Given the Leafs current lack of high-end prospects, it's nice to finally see a glimmer of hope from the Marlies, and whether they win or lose the Calder Cup, it's been quite a successful year.
This offseason is crucial for the Maple Leafs, who have no choice but to try and contend for the playoffs in the next few years considering they traded away both of their first-round picks for 2027 and 2028.
The last thing they need to do is give up more assets to fill depth roles, which was a mahor problem that previous Leafs GM Brad Treliving had.
Major assets were given up for fourth-liner Dakota Joshua, Scott Laughton (who's a fine player, but was never used in a bigger role than a bottom-six guy), and a shutdown d-man in Brandon Carlo that the Leafs didn't really need.
All of these players are fine, but the Leafs didn't really need any of them.
Newly hired GM John Chayka appears to be a better fit for the role than Treliving, and the hope is that Chayka has taken note of Treliving's past mistakes.
The Leafs moves this summer need to be needle-movers, not just plugging holes in the bottom of the depth chart that can be filled from within.
The Marlies have given the Leafs some options for next season, and Chayka would be foolish not to take advantage of it.
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