Toronto Maple Leafs: Leafs Youth Making Case for Lord Stanley's Cup
Toronto Maple Leafs: There are 15 Other Teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are the Biggest Underdogs as to Why They Can Win it All. However, Toronto Might Surprise Everyone this Post-Season!
EXPECTATIONS AT BEGINNING OF SEASON:
The start of the Toronto Maple Leafs season there weren't a lot of expectations going in, everyone from ownership to management to fans knew this team was going to be heavy on youth. But they have somehow pulled out a winning record and are sitting third in the Atlantic. We knew goaltending was going to have to step up so management brought in Frederik Andersen and Jhonas Enroth, at the beginning Andersen was cold and Enroth wasn't much better. But as the season moved on Andersen got much better as he became more accustomed to Toronto's style of play and atmosphere. Enroth on the other hand just couldn't do it and was subsequently traded to Anaheim. This brought in Curtis McElhinney via waiver pick up and since then he's been quite solid as a backup. So goaltending, in the long run, has been fixed. The Leafs defense is young, with their most experienced playoff defender being Roman Polak who went to the cup final last season with San Jose. The next experienced defender would be Jake Gardiner who was on the Leafs team that collapsed in overtime against Boston in the lockout-shortened season. As for offense, only Leo Komarov, Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, and Nazem Kadri have playoff experience as well from that shortened season. Now the biggest surprise could come in the hands of rookie sensation Auston Matthews who played pro last year in the Swiss Elite League for the ZSC Lions who had the best regular season record but were beat out of the playoffs in four games. Most of the Leafs rookie's have experience from the Toronto Marlies last season and their deep playoff run.
BIGGEST STRENGTH: SCORING:
Feb 28, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) looks to pass against the San Jose Sharks in the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
The Leafs biggest strength at this point has to be their scoring which is ranked sixth in the NHL and carried mostly by the Leafs rookies who have 112 of the teams 226 goals. So this Leafs can definitely score, the question will be can they score in the playoffs? Auston Matthews leads the team with 34 goals with Nazem Kadri in second place having 30, so if these guys, plus a few others can continue to score at the rate they know how the Leafs should have no issue's doing it in the playoffs.
BIGGEST QUESTION MARK: EXPERIENCE:
When it comes to the playoffs the biggest key to having success is experience, and the Leafs lack it with only a few players on the current roster touching playoff ice. But all season long this team has shown a will to win even against the league's top teams. Maybe it's the coaching of Mike Babcock, the belief in the system or just the overall joy these kids are having that make them show up to the rink every night and compete like it's their last game. I myself believe it's a combination of all three, so if they can continue to do this, they could very well become a cinderella team in the playoffs.
WHY THE LEAFS CAN WIN THE CUP:
Now how can the Leafs win the cup? Their tenacity, their will to win and never give up. But in order to do so, one thing needs to be fixed first, and that's them being able to hold a lead in the third period, something that has hindered this organization for a very long time. Frederik Andersen was recently injured but isn't expected to be out for long. He has the mentality now to win a game on his own, something he could do in Anaheim but only in spurts, he's showing in Toronto he can do it on a nightly basis. Curtis McElhinney, on the other hand, is one of the backups that has been around the league for a long time and knows how to win, but he has the occasional slump. If the Leafs youth can continue scoring at the rate they do, while the veterans continue leading by example, this team could very well upset a lot of clubs in the playoffs and surprise us all. But then again, the team is filled with a bunch of youth players who don't know what they're in for yet.
DEPTH CHART:
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitch Marner
Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Connor Brown
Matt Martin – Brian Boyle – Nikita Soshnikov
Josh Leivo – Frederik Gauthier – Eric Fehr
Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Connor Carrick
Roman Polak – Alexey Marchenko
Matt Hunwick – Martin Marincin
Frederik Andersen
Curtis McElhinney
Garret Sparks
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