The Toronto Maple Leafs have plenty to prove in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. Over the past ten years, it has primarily been a disaster for this team’s core, and a Stanley Cup will be the only thing to impress their fans. Toronto believed the first move was to bring in a stricter coach, which they did this past offseason when they replaced Sheldon Keefe with Craig Berube. Berube brings Stanley Cup experience and a better system for playoff hockey. But can the new coach mask the flaws in the Maple Leafs?
The Leafs had a chance to improve their team at the trade deadline, but it was mostly a swing-and-a-miss. Brandon Carlo has brought stability to the blue line, but another offensive weapon would’ve been ideal. The front office coughed up one of their better prospects and a first-round pick for Scott Laughton, but the early returns on him have been poor. Laughton has no points and is a minus-five rating in nine games since joining on March 8.
If this group succeeds in the playoffs, all will be forgotten. However, there are some massive question marks about whether this group is any different from the ones in blue and white that failed in the past.
Was this the best goaltending tandem the Maple Leafs could build?
It was going to be an important year for the Maple Leafs franchise. Toronto has been riding with their core of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and Morgan Rielly since 2018, with one second-round appearance to show for it. It could be the last season of Marner’s career with his hometown team, and the group wanted to go out with a bang. Optimism was high with Berube as the new head coach, and then the team rolled into training camp with Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz as their goaltending tandem.
Most were wrong about the tandem, as they started the season on fire. They were among the best goalies in the league through the season’s first quarter, but an injury to Stolarz stalled their success. Woll’s numbers took a slight dip, and he has a .905 save percentage over the last 10 games. Stolarz has struggled a little more since returning, owning a .894 save percentage and a 2.90 goals-against average over his past 10. Stolarz was also a massive part of their struggles through the beginning of March, losing four consecutive starts.
While it looked like it was Stolarz’s net to lose early in the season, Woll is starting to slide into that spot. It’s a challenging spot for Berube, as we haven’t seen a true tandem in the postseason. The pair works best together when they alternate games, and giving one guy the reins could be worrisome. The Leafs gave Woll the net in last year’s first round, and the injury-prone goaltender had to miss the deciding Game 7 after hurting himself in the dying seconds of Game 6.
Forward depth could be a concern for Leafs
It could be that there isn’t enough forward depth or the organization’s reluctance to spread the wealth. When the Maple Leafs fired Keefe and brought in Berube, fans rejoiced that a more hard-nosed coach was in charge. The fans point fingers at players like Marner, who seems like a player who likes to have it his way. The armchair coaches think the Maple Leafs should split Marner, Matthews, and Nylander, but Berube came in and continued to roll out the first line of Marner with Matthews, which they’ve seen fail to work in the playoffs countless times. The Matthew Knies-Matthews-Marner line has been good, but will it all fit together in the postseason?
During their poor start to March, Berube finally spread the wealth. Fans rejoiced. The lines stayed together for a period of their game against the Ottawa Senators, and then they returned to the old faithful combinations for the second period. It was hardly enough time to see if it’d actually work, but the Leafs felt justified in their decision, considering they’d go on to lose the game. Toronto has won four of five since that game, but the worry will always be what happens in the postseason.
The Leafs have lost the grace period they usually received for successful regular seasons. They could break the record for team points in a regular season, and fans would still say, “Yeah, but show it to me in the playoffs.” Berube better hope he finds the right combinations for the postseason, because if he rolls out the same old lines and they struggle, he’ll begin to see the abuse Keefe took in his head coaching tenure.
Will this finally be the year for the Maple Leafs? Anything is possible, but recent history tells us not to bet on it.
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