For the past two years, it was apparent that the Toronto Maple Leafs were following the broad outlines of the template laid out by the 2016 Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins.\u00a0 The Penguins boasted two star centres and a star winger on three different lines with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel.\u00a0 They had good goaltending with Mark-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray, and they had a serviceable defence.<\/p>\n
The 2017-18 Toronto Maple Leafs have two centres in Nazem Kadri and Austin Matthews and budding star wingers in Mitch Marner and William Nylander.\u00a0 They have good goaltenders in Frederik Anderson and Curtis McElhinney, and they have a serviceable defence.\u00a0 We are omitting players such as Tyler Bozak and James Van Riemsdyk as they will be playing on other teams next year, but even if we include them, it is clear that the Leafs’ collective performance level is lower on a relative basis than the 2016 Stanley Cup winners.\u00a0 This is why it was completely understandable when the Leafs did not win the Stanley Cup last year.<\/p>\n
With the signing of John Tavares, the Toronto Maple Leafs projected performance level looks to be similar to the 2016 Pittsburgh Penguins.\u00a0 This is huge and means that the Leafs become contenders this 2018\/2019 season.\u00a0 John Tavares is a bona fide star and while not on the same level as Sidney Crosby, Tavares is in that elite No. 1 centre category.\u00a0 Evgeni Malkin is also in that category and the Leafs now have TWO centres in Matthews and Kadri to match up to Malkin.\u00a0 Instead of one star winger in Phil Kessel, the Leafs have TWO budding star wingers in Mitch Marner and William Nylander.\u00a0 They will continue to have good goaltending in Frederik Anderson and McElhinney, and they will continue to have a serviceable defence.\u00a0 While the Leafs’ projected performance level for the 2018\/2019 season may not be as high as the 2016 Pittsburgh Penguins, the Leafs are getting close.<\/p>\n
The reality is that right now, Austin Matthews is not as good as John Tavares or Nazem Kadri, but he has the potential to surpass both of them.\u00a0 Mitch Marner and William Nylander may not be quite as good as Phil Kessel in the offensive end at this moment, but may already be better in the neutral zone and defensive end of the rink.\u00a0 Imagine how good Matthews, Marner, and Nylander will become in a year or two when they have even more development time and seasoning under Mike Babcock.\u00a0 It is not inconceivable to project Matthews as an elite centre and Marner and Nylander as elite wingers.\u00a0 Under this scenario, the math will tilt heavily in the Leafs favour.\u00a0 The Leafs will have three elite centres in Tavares, Matthews, and Kadri vs Pittsburgh’s two in Crosby and Malkin.\u00a0 The Leafs will have two elite wingers in Marner and Nylander vs Pittsburgh’s one in Phil Kessel.\u00a0 In addition, Anderson will still be in his prime as a goalie and the defence will continue to develop.<\/p>\n
The Leafs have set the table for long runs in the playoffs as perennial contenders for the Stanley Cup.\u00a0 Don’t sleep on the Leafs for the next three seasons.\u00a0 They have built a structurally sound foundation for years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the past two years, it was apparent that the Toronto Maple Leafs were following the broad outlines of the template laid out by the 2016 Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins.\u00a0 The Penguins boasted two star centres and a star winger on three different lines with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel.\u00a0 They had … <\/p>\n