The Toronto Maple Leafs provided their fans with plenty of reason for optimism when they returned to the playoffs a year ago. Remember, they were one of the worst teams in the NHL in the 2015-16 season and showed little promise for the future. However, the team stayed the course with the youth movement and things finally paid off. Rookie Auston Matthews was fantastic and gave the team a real leader and a genuine heart-and-soul type of player.
The Leafs not only made the playoffs but they were supposed to get smoked in the first round by the Presidents trophy-winning Washington Capitals. However, they gave the Capitals all they could handle. The Maple Leafs reloaded in the offseason with an eye on taking another step forward in 2017-18. The expectations are once again high in Toronto. The question is whether or not this young team can continue to get much better.
How They Finished Last Season
Toronto won two of the first three in their opening round series with Washington to put a little bit of doubt in the minds of Capitals fans that were worried about another early playoff exit. Washington survived with three straight wins to close out the series including two overtime victories to win the series in six games. However, there were plenty of positives to take from last year’s performance as the Maple Leafs attempt to build a Stanley Cup contender.
What Changed In The Offseason
A young core group of players is expected to take another step forward in 2017-18 after gaining a full year of experience and development at the NHL level. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander represent one of the most intriguing young cores in the NHL while Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev each took a step forward last season. Toronto added a pair of key veterans in the offseason in winger Patrick Marleau and defenseman Ron Hainsey. Marleau is expected to provide some offensive punch while also bringing some leadership to the table. Meanwhile, Hainsey is an experienced defenseman with Stanley Cup experience. Despite the quality free agent additions, the Maple Leafs overlooked their goalie situation in the offseason and decided to stick with Frederik Andersen and Curtis McElhinney as their 1-2 punch. Andersen was brilliant a year ago and he will need to stay healthy in order to help lead Toronto back to the playoffs.
Most Valuable Fantasy Hockey Asset
Matthews led the NHL with 32 even-strength goals as a 19-year-old rookie a year ago. The sky is the limit for him in his second NHL season. Matthews will have every opportunity to build on the success he had a year ago when he registered 40 goals and 69 points with 21 powerplay points. Matthews could get even more powerplay minutes in his second season while lining up with Nylander and Marleau at even strength this season.
Regular Season Win Total Outlook
The Maple Leafs reached the playoffs a year ago with 40 wins thanks in large part to another 15 points from overtime and shootout losses. If they can turn those overtime and shootout losses in to wins, then they will take another step forward this season and challenge for 45 wins. However, if they don’t do a better job in the overtime periods they could end up in a tough spot trying to best the 40-win mark. Remember, this is a team with high expectations now. Last year, there was no pressure to succeed. Now this team has bar to jump over, which includes the playoffs once again and a strong showing. The good news is that this roster is more than capable of delivering.
Toronto is a better team on paper but that is only the case for as long as Andersen stays healthy. While the Maple Leafs appear to be a team on the rise in the Atlantic division, it’s important not to push expectations too high following last year’s success. Toronto will be a playoff team once again in 2017-18. Just don’t expect them to register 45 wins. Looking for another good season but go under the number.
Pick: Under 44.5 Wins
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