Literally everywhere does, other than hfboards.
This is a quote from the Athletic. I am by no means saying that this proves everyone wrong.
They ranked TOR 31st in terms of offseason improvements.
"I didn’t expect to see the Leafs this low, but several little things begin to add up. The biggest change is obviously in net where the team likely downgraded. The combo of Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek wasn’t elite by any means, but on paper, it’s probably more reliable than Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov. Again, goalies are weird beings, so maybe this bet pays off for Toronto, but for now it’s a net negative.
Individually, the biggest loss is Ilya Mikheyev, who comes in at around 1.5 wins on his own. The model loves his combination of goal-scoring ability and defensive prowess and he’ll be missed more than many might think, especially on the penalty kill. Ondrej Kase and Colin Blackwell are decent depth players too and losing them hurts the low end of Toronto’s roster. The top end is obviously good enough that it may not matter much, but the team definitely took a hit with its depth. Calle Jarnkrok and Nicolas Aube-Kubel are fine, but both are coming off down years and are unlikely to match the value of Mikheyev and Kase.
The model still loves the Leafs, don’t you worry — it just would’ve been to a bigger degree with a more sturdy plan between the pipes. The Leafs come into the season with the 28th best goaltending in the league. Ouch"
The Athletic August 4th.
I know that the above comments don't have much to do with TOR being considered "one of the favourites".
I'm not a fool. Based on TOR's playoff futility I cannot stand behind them. I love the Leafs, but this version that Shanny/Dubas built fails to make it past the first round. They have to prove it, and usually they don't. Do I think they'll make the playoffs? Yes.