Are the Toronto Maple Leafs really the real deal?

If you ask 50 NHL fans who they think the most popular team in the league is, a few will definitely say the Montreal Canadiens. There would be a few votes for American teams like the New York Rangers, or the Boston Bruins. I will guarantee, though, that most will say the Toronto Maple Leafs. Every day, we get an update on how Auston Matthews mustache is growing, or how the Leafs beat a bad team the other day, rather than the real sports news. The question to ask though, is: Are the Toronto Maple Leafs really the real deal?

Well, I’m not going to argue the fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs are a good team, because they are, and that’s that. It would be ridiculous to not consider a team with one of the best offences in the league, an above average defence and a top 10 goalie, a bad team.

There’s a difference between a good team and a real cup contender, though. A good team can win a fair amount of games, but a cup contender can control most games, consistently, night in and night out.

A good team usually has a starting goalie taking on most of the workload, with a backup only playing if he absolutely has to, but a cup contender, even if it has one of the best goalies in the league, has two goalies they feel confident playing in any situation.

Lastly, a good team has one or two big lines and a main defensive pair, but a cup contender has 4 lines and 3 defensive pairs that can all play, all picking up slack for one another.

The thing is, when I look at the Toronto Maple Leafs, I don’t think they check any of the boxes of a cup contender. While some nights their offence has taken over and everything has clicked, these past few seasons, they have failed to perform in clutch situations (Boston series 2018 and 2019) and they haven’t been the most consistent.

They certainly don’t have a backup they feel confident in in Micheal Hutchinson. Hutchinson has yet to win a game this season (0-3-1 4.25 GAA and 885% save percentage) and he only has 116 NHL games under his belt, which is a cause for concern, especially since he’s only started 15 NHL games since 2017-18. So, Frederik Andersen will most likely play 60+ games again this season, which will most definitely lead to some fatigue going into the playoffs, or maybe even an injury!

The biggest thing that makes a cup contender, though, is depth. The coach of a true cup contender can feel confident putting any of his lines or defensive pairings out in any situation, and I don’t feel like Mike Babcock has that luxury right now. His forward group looks pretty deep, but getting into the defence is where you start to find the weak links.

First of all, Mike Babcock needs to learn that Cody Ceci is not a first pair defenceman, so stop treating him like one. He obviously can’t keep up with guys like the players he was playing with such as Morgan Rielly, so don’t play him there!

That’s the first issue. The second is the third pair, featuring Justin Holl and Travis Dermott, who only have 127 games between them. It’s a huge mistake to play 2 young players on the same pair, especially ones with so little experience. Without a veteran, or at least a player with a few years of experience there, there is no one to cover up the inevitable errors they will make.

So, with that being said, the Toronto Maple Leafs will not be lifting Lord Stanley’s chalice anytime soon unless Mike Babcock can make the necessary changes to his lineup and until they can acquire a solid backup goalie capable of playing 30+ games.

Until then, there’s always the Raptors, Leafs fans!

What do I know, though. I’m just an 11 year old aspiring GM. Be sure to follow my Instagram, @puckinaroundwithjohnny, as well as subscribe to the mailing list on the site so you’ll never miss a blog!

Until next time,

Johnny