It was another disappointing end to the season for the Toronto Maple Leafs who failed to get past the Columbus Blue Jackets during the NHL’s play-in, qualifying round.
The Leafs are stacked with young talent including dynamic forwards Mitch Marner and Austin Mathews but have not been able to translate that into any type of playoff success. They have not won a playoff series since they beat the Ottawa Senators in 2004, have not won a division championship in 20 years, and it has been 53 years since their last Stanley Cup success.
This season was to be different but the team stumbled out of the gate. General Manager Kyle Dubas replaced Mike Babcock with Sheldon Keefe in November, and the team seemed to find it’s stride before the season was suspended. Still, it wasn’t enough, as the team failed to advance for the fourth consecutive season.
The team headed into the short offseason with the 15th pick in the NHL draft and with a little breathing room under the salary cap. Oddsmakers like their chances heading into the 2020-21 season. A $30 Unibet free bet at +2000 odds pays an even $600 on the futures bet, but the questions remain. Can the team make the changes this offseason that will get them over the top?
Re-Sign Forwards
The offense isn’t something that the Leafs upper brass is all too concerned with. The offseason goal will simply be to keep as many pieces in place with the hope that they can free up enough money to address their defensive needs.
Moving towards that goal, the Leafs began their offseason early by completing a six-player trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on August 25th. The Leafs sent speedster Kasperi Kapanen to the Penguins, along with Pontus Aberg and defenseman Jesper Lindgren, for forwards Evan Rodrigues and Filip Hallander, and defenseman David Warsofsky and the Penguins #1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
The move should allow the Leafs to re-sign RFA Ilya Mikheyev, newly acquired forward Rodrigues, Travis Dermott, Denis Malgin, and Frederick Gauthier. It’s also likely that they give 37-years-old Jason Spezza another year as he played well in a bottom-six role.
Defense, Defense, Defense
The additions Jake Muzzin, Cody Cici, and Tyson Barrie over the last two seasons were intended to shore the defense and take the heat off of the young Morgan Rielly. Muzzin worked out, but Barrie never seemed to find his groove and Cici was less than stellar.
The Maple Leafs defense gave up 3.02 goals per game last season. That ranked 25th in the NHL. They have some blueline prospect depth, but Mikko Lehtonen and Rasmus Sandin are probably still a season or two away from being impact players. Justin Holl is a decent 4-5 defenseman, but what they need is one more solid defenseman to round out the group.
Expect them to take a hard look at both Alex Pietrangelo and T.J. Barrie when free agency begins on Friday. If they’re unable to sign either, they could go the trade route. The Ducks Josh Manson, the Predators Mattias Ekholm, and should Pietrangelo re-sign with the Blues, Colton Parayko.
