The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a remarkable turnaround since finishing last overall two years ago, with young scorers Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander establishing themselves as the core group of one of the most potent offenses in the NHL.
The Leafs under head coach Mike Babcock have made the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2003 and 2004, but after a pair of early playoff exits, Toronto is looking to take the next step in their evolution and become a serious Stanley Cup contender.
Maple Leafs Offseason Goals
Toronto had 105 points and scored 277 goals (2nd in the NHL) during the regular season, but lost a hard fought seven-game first round series to Boston, mostly due to their inability to play adequate defense and shut down the Bruins top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.
Edmonton Oilers offseason report card
New Leafs GM Kyle Dubas inherited a team with a number of key players on expiring contracts and over $20 Million in available cap space heading into the summer. Instead of going all out to re-sign any of their own free agents, the plan was to promote young players within the organization and focus on landing either an impact defensemen and/or center through trade or free agency.
Maple Leafs Offseason Acquisitions
Forwards - John Tavares, Par Lindholm, Josh Jooris and Tyler Ennis
Defense – Igor Ozhiganov
Maple Leafs Offseason Departures
Forwards – James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, Tomas Plekanec, Dominic Moore and Matt Martin
Defense – Roman Polak
Maple Leafs Free Agency/Trades
Toronto made the biggest splash on July 1, successfully luring Tavares away from the New York Islanders on a seven-year, $77 Million deal, which gives the Leafs one of the best center corps in the NHL and more than makes up for the loss of van Riemsdyk (their leading goal scorer last season) and Bozak.
The club continued their recent trend of scouring the European leagues for talent, signing 25-year-old KHL defenseman Ozhiganov and 26-year-old SHL veteran Lindholm to short-term deals.
Journeyman Jooris split time between the AHL and NHL last season and will battle Lindholm and Frederik Gauthier for the club’s fourth line center spot. The Leafs also took a flyer on Ennis (a former 20 goal scorer and very familiar with the Atlantic Division) after the Minnesota Wild bought out the diminutive forward.
The only trade of the off-season was the return of Martin to the New York Islanders for minor league goalie Eamon McAdam. The big forward was phased out of the Leafs lineup in favor of more skilled players after the All-Star break and was dealt to clear his $2.5 Million salary for the next two years.
Maple Leafs 2018 Draft
The Leafs were caught slightly out of position at the NHL Draft in Dallas, as the hiring of Dubas led to the departure of Asst. GM/Director of Scouting and Player Personnel Mark Hunter, who has been credited for the bulk of the club's success in finding young talent since 2015.
Dubas appeared to rely more on players that he had a high level of familiarity with and deviated away from Hunter’s penchant towards bigger and more physically imposing prospects.
Toronto selected Swedish defenseman Rasmus Sandin of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (who Dubas managed before joining the Leafs) in the first round. Second rounder Sean Durzi and fourth round pick Mac Hollowell both attended the Leafs Development Camp last summer after going undrafted in 2017 and had breakout offensive campaigns as 19-year-olds in the Ontario Hockey League.
Maple Leafs Offseason Grade – B+
The signing of Tavares is a home run for Toronto and could vault them to serious contender status in the Eastern Conference, but the club did not address their thin defensive corps, which could keep them from getting past either Tampa or Boston in the Atlantic Division.
The Leafs still have nearly $14 Million in available cap space, which could mean that adding a top four blueliner will be something that they try to do before the trade deadline.