It feels like the Leafs have tried almost everything. But they lack one important characteristic.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ roster construction in 2022-23 was ‘no stone unturned’ incarnate. Their starting lineup on the day of their 2022 elimination turned over 42.1 percent by the time they were eliminated by the Florida Panthers last Friday. Whether you’re a fan of GM Kyle Dubas or not, no one can say he didn’t try his best to put a team on the ice built to go the distance.
It begs the question…what is left to try at this point? In the seven seasons of the Auston Matthews/Mitch Marner era, the Leafs have the third most wins in the NHL, icing the league’s No. 2 offense, No. 3 power play and No. 8 penalty kill. They’ve smashed and re-smashed their franchise’s single-season points record. Yet they still can’t break through into deep-spring playoff contention.
“I think the minute that you don’t have any ambition or ideas in terms of what to change, that’s probably the time you have to sit and say, ‘Maybe this is not for me’ or ‘This is for somebody else,’ ” Dubas said. So there’s an understanding in the organization that big changes are welcome, the team is counting on its youth movement to contribute more going forward and there’s a bit of actual cap space to play with as the cap is set to rise by $1 million this summer. But what, exactly, do the Leafs need?The Leafs obviously aren’t lacking for skill. Their forward group regularly ranks among the best in the league in that regard.
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