Toronto Maple Leafs Season Outlook

With training camp only a week away, the Toronto Maple Leafs are gearing up for the upcoming season. It has been a long offseason for Leafs fans, and the team has undergone a complete overhaul thanks to General Manager Cliff Fletcher. Gone are the old faces who have anchored the Maple Leafs for so long, and replacing them are younger, lesser known players. With such a different roster heading into training camp, the Maple Leafs are going to look like a completely different squad when they finally hit the ice. So what can one expect from the Leafs this year? In one phrase, who the hell knows.

One thing that stands out though, is that many of the Maple Leafs acquisitions have been defencemen. It seems that Fletcher has been focused on fortifying the Leafs blue line this offseason. The most notable of these defencemen acquisitions, is Mike Van Ryn. Van Ryn was traded to the Leafs by Florida in exchange for Bryan McCabe and a 4th round pick. Convincing McCabe to waive his no movement clause was probably Fletcher's most significant achievement this summer. In doing so, he saved the Toronto Maple Leafs a great deal of cap space, and replaced an inconsistent defenceman with a physically solid, and defensively aware blue liner. Other notable Maple Leaf defencemen acquisitions include Jeff Finger and Jonas Frogren. Neither of these players are known for their ability to score points, but both have reputations as stay-at-home defenders who play very consistently in their own end, and aren't afraid to throw some hits. The Maple Leafs it seems, are building their defence corps to do what a defence is supposed to do-keep the puck out of the net.

Also worth mentioning, in addition to the new defencemen acquisitions, is that the Maple Leafs did not trade Pavel Kubina as many people had speculated. After August 15, Kubina's no trade clause kicked in, and Fletcher chose not to move him before this deadline. Leafs head coach Ron Wilson had made no secret of the fact he wanted to coach Kubina, and that he would be a valuable player in his defensive style of coaching. It appears that Fletcher listened to his head coach's advice, and as a result, the Toronto Maple Leafs will likely have one of the better defensive pairings in the league. It is safe to say that Thomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina will form the Leafs top defensive unit, and that should be one of the bright spot's for Leafs fans in this year's roster. I expect this pair will have an impressive showing this season, and will be heavily relied upon given the overall lack of experience on this year's Maple Leafs team.

In my opinion, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have a much better defensive showing this year than last season's dismal performance. The new acquisitions on the Maple Leafs defence will make the unit as a whole much more physical, and more consistent in their own zone. With the exception of Thomas Kaberle, don't expect this group to put up much points however. While they may not chip in much offensively, they will give Vesa Toskala some much needed help in keeping the puck out of the Leafs net. Under the guidance of a known defensive guru like Ron Wilson, don't be too surprised if this group causes the Maple Leafs goals against to drop this season.

Maple Leafs Offence a Question Mark

While the Toronto Maple Leafs appear to have taken a big step forward on the defensive side of the puck, their offence is a different story. Given that Mats Sundin will likely not be starting the season with the Leafs, the top goal scorers on this team are newcomer Niklas Hagman who had 27 goals last year, and Nik Antropov who had 26. Other than those two, the Maple Leafs have nobody in their lineup who scored 20 or more goals in the NHL last season. On paper, it would appear that the Leafs will be seriously lacking any offensive punch this year. This has of course, resulted in many analysts predicting a basement finish for the Maple Leafs in the standings this year. While the situation appears grim on the surface, there are still some unknowns to consider.

The biggest of these unknowns on offence, is Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake. While he had a disappointing goal total last year, Blake has shown in the past that he can score, and score big. Jason Blake has the talent to lead this team in goals, but he will have to greatly step up his game in the absence of Sundin, and return to his old form. Other question marks are Leafs newcomers Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski, who will both likely see ice time on one of Toronto's top two scoring lines. Kulemin has looked good in Russia, and Grabovski has impressed in the AHL. However, will they be able to transfer their skills over to the NHL level? If the Maple Leafs are going to make any noise on offence this year, they will have to.

So while the Toronto Maple Leafs will likely be better at stopping the puck from going into their net, it looks like they're going to have a much harder time putting it in. With such a different team hitting the ice though, it is impossible to predict how the Leafs will fare this season. While they are younger, faster, and more defensively sound, they are also inexperienced and unproven. Despite what the analysts may be saying, it is impossible to predict how the Maple Leafs will do this year, until they actually start playing. Regardless of whether or not they grab a surprise playoff spot, or a top 5 draft pick, the changes taking place will make the Toronto Maple Leafs one of the more intriguing teams to watch this season. October 9th is almost here.