Is this version of Maple Leafs better then last year

[MJ65]

Is this version of Maple better then last year? I believe so
I am not going to discuss the skills of who have added nor am I going to point out the flaws of players that were either trade or left via free agency
Who we have added (just listing the significant ones, the players that are going to be on our roster)

- Barrie
- Muzzin (yes, he was here only for part of the season)
- Ceci
- Kerfoot
- Spezza
- Mikeyehev
- Timashov
- Sandin
- Hutchinson

Who we are missing (from last season)
- Gardiner
- Kadri
- Brown
- Ennis
- Hainsey
- Lindholm
- Marleau
- Zaitsev
- Ohziganov
- Sparks

Goaltending - Hutchinson, he is not the best but definitely better Sparks
Defense - Is this really debateable when you add Muzzin / Barrie, not only you upgrade you top 2 pairings but also upgrade 3rd pairing with younger and mobile "D" and once Dermott is back, it's going to be even better
Offense - we are definitely going to miss Kadri, is he better then Kerfoot (yes I believe so), but you have added a solid player in Mikeyelev and Kerfoot is good enough to fulfil 3rd line duties. The addition of Mikeyelev should improve both 3rd and 4th lines, once Hyman is back (that's what I believe). Nylander is definitely going to be better with pre-season and playing full season

Your comments are welcome

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[leaffaninvancouver]

Yes, the defence is a lot better and the young forward core is only getting better.

 

[kk87]

Anyone who tells you we haven't improved on paper is delusional.

Forward: despite the loss of Kadri, I'd argue we're still actually better off since we'll be running Nylander with Matthews which should make that line more potent. Having guys like Mikheyev and Moore in depth roles over Marleau and Ennis is also an upgrade by the looks of it, especially in footspeed.

Defence: infinitely better than last year. Losing Gardiner is kind of unfortunate but we've added two studs in Barrie and Muzzin, and Ceci looks to be a significant improvement on Zaitsev or Hainsey. Add in a year of development for Dermott and Sandin looking like a gem and it's not really close.

Goaltending: if Hutchinson can play even slightly better than Sparks (not a huge ask) he can hopefully get a couple extra wins and start a couple more games, giving Andersen some much needed rest. At worst a wash, at best a decent improvement.

 

[Fogelhund]

They play games for a reason. Are they better... maybe, now go out and prove it.

Last year, really hot start, and then mediocre for the balance of the year. Great when they skated, and moved the puck well early in the season.

Not so great when they didn't. If they can learn to play with the same intensity and speed, with which they played early on last year... sure... if not.. probably not.

Effort ^ 2 x Speed = success

 

[Duke Silver]

We essentially got rid of our 5 worst players from last season. Zaitsev, Hainsey, Sparks, Marleau, Brown all gone.

 

[BigBlu]

For sure it's better then than.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Our RHD is better for sure.

Hutchinson can’t be any worse than Sparks.

Nylander won’t miss a chunk of the season.

Our young guys are another year older and experienced.

Kerfoot is a downgrade of Kadri, but that shouldn’t be too big of an issue.

 

[HomerJLeafs]

Yes
Better dfence
Our best players are way better (babcock quote)
Our backup is better (Sparks sucked so the bar was low)

 

[NightTrain1]

There are so many pluses for this team on paper its just too much to stay we aren't going to improve. Even the simple things such as improvements on things we already had last season are huge. Nylander ready and raring for a full season beside Matthews. Muzzin now comfortable with his role and the team and here for a full season. Johnsson had his coming out party last year and I think he still has more room before his ceiling. Just those things alone make us better.

But we also got rid of our dead weight, added pieces to multiple areas we were struggling in such as size, effort, faceoffs and defense. Hopefully everyone stays relatively healthy, because this team looks really damn scary.

 

[Blanche Blanche]

Kerfoot is a downgrade of Kadri, but that shouldn’t be too big of an issue.

Was Kadri better? Last season he was dreadful. Missing passes, timing off on plays, not paying attention to details. Hitting posts like 40 times.

His marriage distracted him. Or he was really unlucky.

We will find out how he does as an Ave

 

[MattySnipes]

Games do have to be played. However, imo on paper, this year's team is better than last year's.

Key will be for Babcock and his staff to keep the team engaged throughout the 82 games.

Everyone knows when Fred is at his best, the Leafs are easily one of the best in the league and a very hard team to defeat. The SS department will be a huge component once again. They will have to communicate effectively with Babcock and Briere on Andersen's load-management.

It's a huge priority to keep Fred fresh for playoffs so he can thrive instead of being fatigued. Achieving the perfect balance is hard, especially because Tampa, Toronto, Boston, and Florida will be jockeying for positions in the tough division all year, but they'll have to try their best if they have any hope of going far this year.

If the Leafs defensive zone play (x-factor #1) does finally turn the corner and they show a willingness as a 5 man unit to commit then that's a big boost for Andersen (+Hutch) because he'll be less relied on as opposed to other years. If that happens (best-case) Andersen can play 65ish games and Hutch can just do the back-to-backs.

Over Andersen's tenure with Toronto he's consistently one of the highest league-wide in terms of shots against (fatigue).

Fred with about 41 wins, 5 SO = 87 points is not really a reach. He could even get us 90+ points.

Hutchinson is x-factor #2 for this team. If he can start 25 games (potentially 50 points) and can get us even 50% of points we're in a really good spot. If he can get us about 35 points (70%), that's an extra 10 points which could potentially be a division title.

If x-factor #1 & #2 are both realised, I'd like Babcock to give Fred 58 starts but that won't happen unless Hutch proves he can shoulder more than just back-to-back (14) games.

How likely is it to happen for Hutch? Not going to get into any negative atm but I'm hoping he has a great year for us and can prove to play more than 20 games.

I'm intrigued to see how we play in front of our Guardians of The Guilded Gazebos this year. With the revamped team and coaching, it sure seems promising. Wednesday can't come fast enough.

 

[Leaf Fans]

I think we are more talented, but better measures performance. I am optimistic.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

Yes it's better, plus you missed a full year of Nylander.

 

[jrgtml67]

No question..we have Muzzin for full year, Nylander, now add in Barrie, Sandin..plus a year older and wiser Marner AM34 yay

 

[Boutette]

Was Kadri better? Last season he was dreadful. Missing passes, timing off on plays, not paying attention to details. Hitting posts like 40 times.

His marriage distracted him. Or he was really unlucky.

We will find out how he does as an Ave

I agree. Kadri 2 years ago, definitely better player. Last year debatable. This year, with the wingers he's being provided on Colorado, again debatable, as Kerfoot is getting better and more complimentarly wingers than what the Avs are providing Kadri, IMO. I think Kadri is in for a tough year ES, even if he does better as part of Colorado's #1 PP, as the top line is gifted with the lion's share of OZ starts.

 

[Trapper]

On paper yes.
But if you want to be a Jedi you must defeat the dark side.

Darth Playoffs.

 

[Nithoniniel]

We look better, at least compared to October last year:

Hyman - Tavares - Marner
Johnsson - Matthews - Nylander
Mikheyev - Kerfoot - Kapanen
Moore - Gauthier - Spezza

Rielly-Ceci
Muzzin-Barrie
Sandin-Dermott

Andersen
Hutchinson

Edit: Forgot Moore.

 

[NoTouchIcing]

I meant to vote Yes, but fat-fingered it into a No.
There's not much to debate here. Besides the obvious personnel upgrades, another year of experience makes it an easy Yes.

 

[pheasant]

Than

 

[Macallan18]

Yes, I think we are better.
We will miss Gardiner, and perhaps Kadri.
Gardiner is replaced by Barrie albeit on the right side, and nowhere near as sound defensively. But c'est la vie. I still think there is a reason we have Ceci instead of Gardiner, which could have been structured, and I think its the back issue that we are not getting details on.
Kadri is replaced by Kerfoot, bearing in mind Kadri had, by reason of personal, become our 3rd line centre. Neither Kadri or Kerfoot are defensive wonders, but the drop off in talent is not massive.
Add Sandin!!! That makes my heart warm.
All of our kids one year older.
Mikheyev over Marleau, massive upgrade.
Nylander for the whole season, and playing with Matthews, I actually think this may be the most dramatic improvement. My gut tells me expect a massive season from those two.
Hainsey down to Ceci, time will tell, I think this may end up a wash.
And what about Dermott when he comes back? Who sits????
Well, I think this is a pretty good team, balanced, not many flaws.
And even Babcock seems less stubborn and stodgy!!!
Can you tell I am pumped for the season?

 

[Spirit of 67]

I'm 52 and this is the best team I've seen.

Let's just light this candle and get on with it.

 

[Suntouchable13]

I think they are better, but once again I'll say that they will be judged by what they do in the playoffs. Finishing with more points but losing in the first round is not an improvement.

 

[SprDaVE]

On paper, emphatically yes. They upgraded many positions or went side-ways in replacements. The only downgrade the Leafs did was to go from Kadri to Kerfoot.

We'll see how they actually do though. It's a long season.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Yes, the defence is a lot better and the young forward core is only getting better.

The defence is obviously better, possibly much better if Sandin keeps impressing the way he has. And I've been saying for a few years now that the bolded is a good reason why we could be better than the year before. It's not at all unlikely that Matthews, Nylander, Kapanen and Johnsson all have career years and that alone would give this team a turbo boost.

 

[ImpartialNHLfan]

On paper it's better, along with our young guys gaining another year of experience. I wouldn't call it the best Leaf team of all time though.