I said we weren't. But AM has always been the wildcard. And he looks like he's stepping into his own which will be dangerousNot sure yet.
If you asked me a month ago I’d have said no. Now, I’m not so sure.
How is this debatable? The list of players now gone is like a who's who list of the players we hated and thought were dead weight.
Marleau, Brown, Hainsey, Kadri, Gardiner, Zaitsev
Dubas got rid of every single guy we singled out! I am convinced he reads these boards!
We aren't just a little better ... we are A LOT better.
Is the *healthy* version of the Maple Leafs better at Game 1 versus last year?
I think the answer is yes, with one big caveat.
Up front, notables you lose Kadri, Marleau, Brown. You replace them with Kerfoot, Spezza, and Moore. IMO, they certainly got "shallower" as Kadri is better than Kerfoot, Marleau better than Spezza, and Brown at least looked better than Moore. However you gain a year of age and experience for Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Kapanen and Johnsson. Overall, I think the group is better this year, with one caveat being that having Matthews-Tavares-Kadri down the middle last year would have been great for the playoffs if Kadri could keep his nose clean... this year, we're more top-heavy.
On D, notables out are Gardiner, Hainsey and Zaitsev, being replaced by Barrie, Muzzin and Ceci. To me, that's a pretty big upgrade.. Barrie is a good chunk better than Gardiner, Muzzin a reasonable upgrade on Hainsey, and Zaitsev-Ceci being likely a wash.. maybe the Leafs take a bit of a downgrade on that swap... but overall it's an upgrade, even without development from Dermott.
In goal, maybe a slight downgrade as Sparks had upside, whereas Hutchinson is more of a know-what-you-have guy.
The caveat however -- last year's Leafs had the flexibility to add Jake Muzzin midseason without subtracting from the roster. This year's Leafs have ZERO cap flexibility. The group of players they start with, will likely have to be the group they finish with, save for subbing out sub-$1m players.
Team is top heavy which may be fine in the regular season, that 3rd and 4th will struggle in the playoffs and there is no $$ to do any upgrades at the deadline.
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