The Maple Leafs In My Opinion

Photo credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports With the Stanley Cup Finals well underway, the 2017-18 season is quickly reaching its conclusion. This means the offseason is fast approaching and many important decisions will need to be made by teams heading into both the draft and free agency. The Toronto Maple Leafs have a few areas that need to be addressed in the coming months in order for the team to make the next step towards Cup contention. The 2018 playoffs proved that defence was still a top priority and the depth at centre heading into 2019 is unclear. Obviously, the team could draft the best prospect at the Leafs spot and develop them. That could take a while though as the window is just now opening. There could also be a trade, but what assets do the Leafs feel comfortable giving up to get immediate help? The logical conclusion then would be to sign some key free agents starting  July 1st . There are many marquee players that could be available, like John ...

Toronto Maple Leafs players leave the ice after losing Game 7 to the Bruins in Boston on Wednesday.   (Charles Krupa/Associated Press) Wednesday's Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins put a premature end to what was a historic season for the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The team took big leaps, with the young core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander making strides in their game. Frederik Andersen established new franchise bests in the goaltending category. The defensive core of Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner had big seasons offensively. Plus rookie call-ups Travis Dermott, Kasperi Kapanen, and Andreas Johnsson established themselves as lineup staples for the future.  While the Leafs were able to reach franchise highs during the regular season, it's clear the team is not yet ready to reach that next step as they learned some valuable lessons during this year's playoff run. Let's look at five takeaways from this season and where the team need...

Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images The 2017-18 regular season came to an end  on Saturday  night with the Toronto Maple Leafs defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. It clinched the best regular season in franchise history both in wins (49) and points (105). Winning the game also gave goaltender Frederik Andersen the most wins in a season by any Leaf goalie (38) and put the team on the right track with the playoffs fast approaching. A lot of the games themselves were special to watch as the core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander among others dominated other teams at times with their deadly offence, speedy defence, and solid goaltending. Luckily for me, I was able to see a few of these games in person. To make a long story short, my uncle has season tickets that he shares with my family every season since he can't see all the home games. This season I got to see five games at the Air Canada Centre , each of  them  a Leaf ...

(Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports) As t he Toronto Maple Leafs march through the dog days of the NHL offseason, one thing they don’t have to worry too much about is their roster. A majority of their key players remain under contract for the upcoming season, the young guns appear ready to take the next step in their development, and the team is eager to build on the success of last season. While the players who will d on the Blue and White  has been determined, figuring out where each of them will play come opening night  is not fully set in stone . The new additions and the key young stars will all play a factor in  what the line combinations will eventually look like . Here's my best guess as to what the Leafs lineup will look like when they open their season against the Winnipeg Jets. Forwards Marleau-Matthews-Nylander JVR-Bozak-Marner Komarov-Kadri-Brown* Hyman/Martin-Moore-Kapanen * = Assuming Connor Br...