As part of a running series, Puck Prose will diagnose what went wrong with the eliminated playoff teams. Next up from the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs: the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs lost in six games versus the Washington Capitals in round one of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They were a young team, one not expected to overwhelm the Capitals. They came close though, and not much went wrong in their playoff series.
But there are things that did go wrong. We'll discuss these, breaking down each one. Let us begin with:
Defensive Leadership
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) skates with the puck (Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)
It would be wishful thinking for me, as a Chicago Blackhawks fan, to say that the Toronto Maple Leafs desperately need Brent Seabrook. But they do need somebody, an experienced defenseman capable of playing top 2 minutes. Somebody with veteran presence who can help the Maple Leafs blue line youth.
Somebody who can play above Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev, who can come in handy in clutch situations and help develop these defensemen.
Because Toronto desperately needed an experienced defenseman outside of those three. They need a true top 1 or 2 defenseman, somebody who can play upwards of 28 minutes a night in the playoffs. There's not a lot of those guys, but there are some available to the Maple Leafs.
That includes, in free agency, Kevin Shattenkirk. There will be a bidding war for Shattenkirk's services, and the Maple Leafs only have about fourteen million to spend on six players. If there was a guy and a time to overpay, though, it would be Shattenkirk for this team.
Trades
But overpaying can only go so far – if Shattenkirk's contract gets over six million, move on. There are other defensemen available to the Maple Leafs. Most of these are through trades.
Ottawa Senators defenseman Marc Methot (3) passes the puck (Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports)
With a smart trade, the Maple Leafs could acquire somebody like Ryan Ellis or Mattias Ekholm from Nashville – they won't be able to protect both in the expansion draft. The Maple Leafs could trade for Brent Seabrook and more from the Blackhawks for a very small amount in return, but there's a reason for that.
The Maple Leafs could also trade for one of the other top defensemen available at the entry draft, because of Vegas's expansion draft. Names like Cam Fowler, Mike Green, Jack Johnson, Alec Martinez, Thomas Hickey, and Marc Methot might be available. All of these guys could play top 2 minutes.
Marc Methot is especially appealing.
Clutch Play
The Toronto Maple Leafs lost three games in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs in overtime. They also won two in OT, but still. Losing the majority of overtime games, especially when you 2-1 back to back, is going to hurt you. And it did.
So how do the Maple Leafs find OT scoring? Well, they have stars that didn't produce in OT. Neither Mitch Marner nor Auston Matthews scored an overtime goal. Both Marner and William Nylander, the third of the rookie trio, scored just one goal.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) looks for a pass (John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports)
And while that can be blamed on being all three of those guys rookie years and their first taste of the playoffs, they still needed to step up bigger in clutch situations. Matthews especially, who already delivered a forty goal season, needs to step it up in overtime.
In fact, only three Maple Leafs scored more than once. While Matthews led the team with four goals (hey, I'm not saying he played poorly, just in overtime), James Van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak tied at two. One of Bozak's was an overtime winner.
So the rookies are going to have to learn from Tyler Bozak as a model for overtime play. I mean, just look at his whole play on this goal. It's remarkable.
[Via Youtube.com]
Everybody on this Leafs roster next year should be attempting to emulate Tyler Bozak. Something I'd never thought I'd say.
Just Too Darn Young
The Maple Leafs really only had one fundamental flaw in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs… they were too damn young. Yeah, getting defensive leadership will be critical in the offseason, and the kids could play better in overtime.
But at the same time, they took the Washington Capitals to six games the year everyone though the Capitals would finally win the Cup. That's a remarkable feat. The Maple Leafs are special. They just need more than one year in the playoffs, and they will likely be better next year.
A few of the guys need to show up more than once – Marner, Nylander, Nazem Kadri – but other than that, they played really well. Sit back and relax Toronto fans, there's not much to fix on this roster.
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