As the Toronto Maple Leafs kick off their 2022-23 training camp, much was being made of news that team president Brendan Shanahan had not offered a contract extension to GM Kyle Dubas. That means Dubas has this season, and likely only this season, to put together a team that can, at the very least, make it beyond the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs next spring. And while there are reasons to be skeptical the Buds can get beyond their now-legendary first-round struggles, there also are reasons for optimism that, at long last, this will be the year the franchise takes a competitive step forward.
The main reason for skepticism is also one of the main reasons for optimism: the Leafs’ goaltending. Dubas chose not to bite on a lengthy contract extension for veteran starter Jack Campbell, instead choosing a rebound project in Matt Murray, and a young-ish secondary option in Ilya Samsonov. All Toronto needs is one of the two netminders to give them even average goaltending, and let their considerably potent offense do the heavy lifting that leads to as many wins (50) as the Leafs had last year.
-
Ep 76: Oilers, Flames, Winter Classic Jersey, Avs, and More
by Full Press Coverage on November 23, 2023 at 6:42 am
Jim and Chris are back for another edition of Full Press Hockey Weekly to […]
Dubas & Co. don’t need a Vezina Trophy-worthy performance from Murray or Samsonov; clearly, Toronto brass believes in the system that Colorado utilized to win a Cup last year – a system that places the bulk of the expectation not on goalies, but on the forwards and defense. That’s the biggest gamble the Leafs are making this season, and to argue it’s going to fail is as arrogant and wrong as it is to suggest it’s absolutely going to pan out in Toronto’s favor.
Around Full Press Hockey
NHL: Assessing The Philadephia Flyers’ Depth At Center And Defense
NHL Rumors: NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Dallas Stars
NHL: The Most Pressured Men in Maple Leafs Land This Season
NFL: Best Bets For 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie Of The Year
Full Press Bets: Early 2022 NFL MVP Odds: Bills’ Josh Allen Favored
PODCAST: Full Press Hockey Weekly: Ep 37: NHL Free Agency Recap
But beyond the goaltending, the Leafs are stacked at forward and on the blueline this season. Let’s look at the latter area first: when savvy veteran and former Norris Trophy winner Mark Giordano selflessly agreed to an $800,000-per-season, two-year contract, he gave Dubas much more salary cap flexibility with which to operate. And, regardless of how the situation with restricted free agent Rasmus Sandin turns out, Toronto now has a very solid top-six on the back end, with veteran depth in league-minimum signees Jordie Benn and Victor Mete waiting to step in if needed. Morgan Rielly is still the key on defense for the Leafs, but he’s entering a very economical $7.5-million-per-season salary, and though the health of veteran Jake Muzzin is worrisome, the Buds have enough talent to absorb a blow or two to their defense corps. That’s more reason for optimism.
But the key reason Leafs fans have reason for optimism is their forward group. No matter what you think of their salary breakdown, you can’t argue Toronto doesn’t have one of the most, if not the most potent first lines of forwards in the game today. Start with last season’s most valuable player and top goal-scorer, Auston Matthews, who just turned 25, and then go to fellow stars Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander, and you have a leviathan top two lines.
But the Leafs’ third and fourth-lines up front are going to look much different, with Dubas committing to more grit in the forms of Calle Jarnkrok, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and, perhaps, training camp tryout Zach Aston-Reese. The difference between Toronto’s top-six and bottom-six forwards may be more stark, but so long as Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander deliver on offense, the Leafs just need the bottom-six to not be a problem on defense.
As you can see, there’s plenty of data that point to the Leafs being strong once again in this coming regular season. It’s not going to be easy for them in an improved Atlantic Division, but there’s no reason why Toronto can’t again be a fearsome unit through 82 games. We all know they’ll ultimately be judged on the games that come after the regular season, but all sorts of unexpected influences can dictate what happens at that point. For now, at least, optimism deserves as much of a place at the Leafs’ table as pessimism does.
-
Ep 76: Oilers, Flames, Winter Classic Jersey, Avs, and More
by Full Press Coverage on November 23, 2023 at 6:42 am
Jim and Chris are back for another edition of Full Press Hockey Weekly to […]
-
Ep 75: Hockey After Dark
by Full Press Coverage on November 15, 2023 at 3:12 am
Jim and Chris are back for the first edition of Full Press Hockey After […]
-
Ep 74: Drama In Ottawa, McAvoy Suspended, NHL Rumors, and More!
by Full Press Coverage on November 2, 2023 at 1:27 pm
In a jam-packed episode, Jim and Chris discuss the drama in Ottawa with […]
-
Off to Motown: Patrick Kane Signs with Detroit Red Wings
by Full Press Coverage on November 28, 2023 at 7:07 pm
Jim Biringer is back once again joined by Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey […]
-
What's on Russ's Mind: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
by Full Press Coverage on November 23, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Jim Biringer is back once again joined by Russ Cohen of Full Press Hockey, […]
-
Off To Alberta To Check On The Edmonton Oilers
by Full Press Coverage on November 19, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Jim Biringer is back once again joined by Avry Lewis-McDougall of the […]
-
Ep 87: Captain Brad Marchand, New Season Expectations, Bruins Hockey Is Back
by Full Press Coverage on October 11, 2023 at 11:10 pm
Ian and Chris return for the start of the Bruins season as they talk Brad […]
-
Ep 86: David Krejci Announces Retirement
by Full Press Coverage on August 14, 2023 at 10:28 pm
Ian and Chris react to David Krejci's retirement. Learn more about your ad […]
-
S5Ep13 - Patrick Kane Signs with Detroit Red Wings
by Jim Biringer on November 28, 2023 at 5:21 pm
Jim Biringer is back for the fifth season of the Final Word on Hockey in a […]
-
S5Ep12 - Time For William Nylander To Get Paid
by Jim Biringer on November 19, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Jim Biringer is back for the fifth season of the Final Word on Hockey […]
-
Avalanche at Ducks - Canucks at Flames - Capitals at Golden Knights
by Broken Controller Media on December 2, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Hunter Logan Previews Avalanche at Ducks, Canucks at Flames, Capitals at […]
-
Sabres at Hurricanes - Red Wings at Canadiens - Kraken at Senators
by Broken Controller Media on December 2, 2023 at 4:10 pm
Hunter Logan Previews Sabres at Hurricanes, Red Wings at Canadiens, Kraken […]
-
Lightning at Stars - Blackhawks at Jets - Rangers at Predators - Islanders at Panthers
by Broken Controller Media on December 2, 2023 at 4:05 pm
Hunter Logan Previews Lightning at Stars, Blackhawks at Jets, Rangers at […]
-
Episode #147: Sloppy October Is Over?
by Full Press Coverage on November 2, 2023 at 8:37 pm
On this edition of The Calder Farmstead, Sean and Sarah finish out the […]
-
Episode #146: Spooky Luck
by Full Press Coverage on October 27, 2023 at 4:09 pm
On this episode of The Calder Farmstead, Mr. Anderson (Sean) and Tina […]
-
Renegades Of Puck Ep 828
by Charlie Saunier on December 1, 2023 at 6:59 pm
Ep 828 The Renegades Of Puck Recap 6-1 L Vs Wild Preview Rangers & […]
-
Full Press Islanders - 12-1 - Take the 2 points and run
by Full Press Coverage on December 1, 2023 at 4:55 pm
Last night wasn't pretty but they found a way to win and that's what […]
-
Full Press Hurricanes - 12-1 - Carolina Falls 5-4 in Overtime Against the Islanders.
by Full Press Coverage on December 1, 2023 at 4:30 pm
The Hurricanes thoroughly outshot the New York Islanders 43-16, but the […]
-
Leafs Digest - 12-1 - MASSIVE Trade Incoming? - Trade Reports INTENSIFYING
by BCM on December 1, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Nick Gosse and Darius Domingues break down recent reports highlighting […]
-
Full Press Kraken - 12-1 - Shootout loss, Maple Leafs, Marner
by Full Press Coverage on December 1, 2023 at 2:40 pm
Recapping the shootout loss to Toronto. Learn more about your ad choices. […]
-
Full Press Wild - 12-1 - Recapping a dominating Wild win over the predators.
by Full Press Coverage on December 1, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Win, Nashville, domination, Connor Dewar. Learn more about your ad […]
-
11/28 - MNF Reaction, State Of The NFL
by Full Press Coverage on November 30, 2023 at 3:49 am
Ian and John react to Monday Night Football and discuss more of the state […]
-
11/27 - Thanksgiving Recap; Jalen Hurts, NFL News and Notes
by Full Press Coverage on November 27, 2023 at 10:43 pm
Ian and John recap Thanksgiving weekend, discuss Jalen Hurts' moment, and […]
-
11/24 - Thanksgiving Recap, Jets/Dolphins, Week 12 Picks
by Full Press Coverage on November 24, 2023 at 3:47 pm
Ian and John react to all of the action on Thanksgiving Day and look ahead […]
-
11/23 - Thanksgiving Day Preview, Tom Brady, Top 5 NFL Teams
by Full Press Coverage on November 23, 2023 at 3:11 pm
Ian and John discuss the Thanksgiving Day slate of games in the NFL, Tom […]
-
Ep 193: Ayako Hamada
by Full Press Coverage on December 2, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Ayako Hamada has had a wide and varied career through AAA, SHIMMER, TNA, […]
-
Ep. 262 - The In Season Tournament is Going Better Than Anyone Expected
by Full Press Coverage on December 1, 2023 at 12:56 am
Jet and Sap share their thoughts now that group play is over with in the […]
-
Ep 198: Week 13 vs Chiefs
by Full Press Coverage on November 30, 2023 at 8:20 pm
In this episode, co-hosts Kyle Senra and Jesse Hall are joined by Braden […]
-
Ep 316: Week 13 Fantasy Football Preview
by Full Press Coverage on November 30, 2023 at 4:08 am
In this episode, Kyle Serna and Brad Harvin provide a survival guide for […]
-
11/28 - MNF Reaction, State Of The NFL
by Full Press Coverage on November 30, 2023 at 3:49 am
Ian and John react to Monday Night Football and discuss more of the state […]
-
Ep 180: Hall of Fame Class Of 2024 Semifinalists Discussion
by Full Press Coverage on November 28, 2023 at 7:02 pm
Ira and Clark dissect the 2024 Hall of Fame class semifinalists. Learn […]
-
Ep 197: Recapping Weeks 11 & 12
by Full Press Coverage on November 27, 2023 at 11:26 pm
This episode is a double-dip in a good way. Kyle Senra and Jesse Hall […]
-
11/27 - Thanksgiving Recap; Jalen Hurts, NFL News and Notes
by Full Press Coverage on November 27, 2023 at 10:43 pm
Ian and John recap Thanksgiving weekend, discuss Jalen Hurts' moment, and […]
I like the adds of jankrok NAK ZAR and possibly Gaudette. Still are missing a LW2 but that might be Engvall who brings loads of size speed reach cycling and forechecking. All things JT needs ins wingman