Right Out Of The Gate, Nothing’s Coming Easy For High-Drama Maple Leafs

If there’s one thing that’s fun about being a hockey writer based in Toronto, it’s this: the Maple Leafs are never, ever a dull story.

Through good times and bad, the Leafs are supported by a gigantic fan base, and that magnifies everything seen through the lens of Toronto supporters. It’s one of the reasons the Buds trigger such bad feelings among other NHL fan groups; the supply-and-demand for all things Leafs does give off a center-of-the-universe vibe that doesn’t play well outside of Ontario’s capital city.

But strictly from a storyteller’s perspective, you have to admire the Leafs’ penchant for high drama. This year, it’s taken only three regular-season games for the Buds to take their fans on a roller-coaster ride. Hell, in reality, it took just the opening night of the season, against their arch-rivals in Montreal, for the Leafs to drag their fans across the entire spectrum of emotions.

In that game, with presumptive No. 1 goalie Matt Murray making his first appearance in Blue and White, the Leafs engaged in a back-and-forth affair with the Habs before totally collapsing in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the game, surrendering two goals in that span to give Montreal the victory. Murray had a decent enough game until that point, but his inability to hold the lead made worried Leafs fans even more concerned than they were leading up to his Leafs debut.

Then, before people got too far down on the Leafs, they responded with a much smarter overall game the following night at home against the Washington Capitals, a team that looks like a shell of its once-dangerous self in recent years. Still, after the Leafs scored the first goal of the game, they gave up the lead after the Caps scored two goals in a row. Former Capitals netminder Ilya Samsonov, in his first regular-season game with Toronto, then held the fort long enough for the Leafs to tie the game and, eventually, get the game-winner from superstar center Auston Matthews. Samsonov was better after allowing the first goal of the night, but still, it looked as if Toronto’s netminding tandem would give Murray another chance Saturday as the Leafs hosted Ottawa.

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Then the hockey gods stepped in, and the worst fears of Leafs fans were realized when Murray was injured during the game-day skate Saturday morning, and before the Sens game was played, Toronto placed Murray on Long-Term Injured Reserve with what is believed to be an adductor injury expected to sideline him for one month. Murray’s health woes were one of the things that dogged him as a member of the Senators, and all of a sudden, the Leafs were looking at Samsonov to take on a significantly larger role between the pipes. Samsonov availed himself well against the Senators, as Toronto put together a two-game win streak heading into Monday’s home battle with the lowly Arizona Coyotes. But now, the margin for error or injury is as thin as it gets. Youngster Erik Kallgren will serve as Samsonov’s understudy until Murray’s return, but the Leafs desperately need Samsonov to do the bulk of the heavy lifting in the next few weeks.

And so, despite the Leafs winning two of their first three games, and showing some important resolve in doing so, the future of this Toronto team is very much in question. Leafs GM Kyle Dubas gambled his own future on the duo of Murray and Samsonov, and now, before five percent of its season has been played, Toronto is down to one of them.

It’s not an ideal situation, but non-ideal situations have been the hallmark of this Leafs franchise for a half-century now. Perhaps Samsonov rises to the occasion and cements a long-term place for himself in Toronto. Perhaps Murray comes back, stays healthy, and the Leafs have two solid choices in net for the rest of this year. But this is Leafs-Land – the place where nothing good comes easy. Whatever the case, it is the ultimate soap opera for Torontonians.