"The Toronto Maple Leafs cracked the top ten in The Athletic's opening round of NHL rankings. The Leafs clocked into the seventh spot with an estimated 101.7 points on the season. That puts the Buds a smidge above the defending Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets and about two points under the Dallas Stars for sixth spot. The placement is mildly surprising as The Athletic has picked the Leafs to finish second in the Atlantic Division behind the Tampa Bay Lightning."
"Be that as it may, the biggest issue holding the Maple Leafs back in The Athletic's estimation is the loss of Mitch Marner. This narrative has been the subject of scrutiny throughout the offseason. But as the analysts at The Athletic point out, Marner is just one player. Sure, he tacked on 100 points during the regular season last year. Then again, the Maple Leafs' season will boil down to getting into the playoffs and advancing once in."
"Once again, the entire discussion revolving around Marner's absence is overblown. Yes, the club will need to replace his production. But it's better to have replaced Marner with a crop of players instead of just one. In doing so, the Maple Leafs hedged their bets. If one player, such as Matias Maccelli, falters, others could pick up the slack. It would take a catastrophic collapse from various players in the lineup for the strategy to completely fail."
The Toronto Maple Leafs are projected to finish seventh in NHL rankings with an estimated 101.7 points, placing them slightly ahead of the Winnipeg Jets and just below the Dallas Stars. The Tampa Bay Lightning are projected to lead the Atlantic Division, with the Maple Leafs second. The primary concern for the Maple Leafs is the departure of Mitch Marner and replacing his 100-point offensive output. The team opted to spread Marner's production across several players including Matias Maccelli, Max Domi, Nic Roy, Dakota Joshua and Easton Cowan. A healthy Auston Matthews with William Nylander and John Tav would boost scoring and playoff prospects.
Read at Editor In Leaf
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]