The Leafs will be the team that ends Canada’s cup drought.

[Neil Patrick Harris]

These aren’t your Babock Maple Leafs. Don’t worry, some of you will find out soon enough

Just like the Babcock Leafs weren't the Carlyle Leafs, and the Carlyle Leafs weren't the Wilson Leafs, and so on and so forth.

 

[cobra427]

The Leafs won’t win a cup with their current core.

If you look at the past ten years, the teams that have won cups all had their top core players at relatively cap friendly deals, which then gave these teams enough freed up cap space to invest in depth.

The Leafs have too much money tied up in their 4 best forwards. The Leafs are a good team, but I still can’t see them getting past Boston or Washington. After this season, it will get worse for the Leafs. They’ll have to extend Dermott, and will also likely lose one or both of Muzzin and Barrie.

The Leafs, over these next few years, will be the Pittsburgh Penguins of 2010-2015 in my opinion. Their cap issues will be solved once Auston Matthews “leaves” for Arizona when his contracts expires (which is my prediction).

Agreed, unless they trade one or two of the 4 to get better D men. With that D core and overall team D, they won't win a cup. The forwards aren't good defensively either as a group. They are not constructed properly like the Hawks/Pens/kings/Blues to win a cup, its all about the team D.

 

[Love]

Raps and Leafs champs? Uh oh

City of champions!!!!

 

[LeafGrief]

Mmmm yes, indubitably

 

[Sam Spade]

I kind of feel like it will be Vancouver myself.

 

[NyQuil]

They have the skill and the talent level required.

Do they have the gumption and the physicality to get through four rounds? Remains to be seen.

Goaltending may have to compensate for that.

You can import experience and toughness or you can develop it over time.

 

[Riddum]

Are the leafs peaking too early?

 

[General Disarray]

Y'all laugh but they are the best team in the east. Coaching was holding them back. They're gonna catch Boston. Whether they can beat blues/Avs is a different story but they are coming out of the east.
Bookmark me.

 

[Deuce Awesome]

Agreed, unless they trade one or two of the 4 to get better D men. With that D core and overall team D, they won't win a cup. The forwards aren't good defensively either as a group. They are not constructed properly like the Hawks/Pens/kings/Blues to win a cup, its all about the team D.

Ive always considered myself a rational Leafs fan. Ive been a fan of this team since Wendel Clark was drafted and have seen a lot of bad, a glimpse of very good, and a glimpse of so so.

The glimpse of very good was the 92-93 teams with Gilmour and Clark. Those two years were the best teams I have seen wear the blue and white. A perfect balance of skill, grit, and defence.

A lot of people say the early 2000's teams were as good but they weren't. Throw money at the best goalies and ride it out. We had no business beating the Sens in those battle of Ontario series but due to goaltending we did.

Since then, the salary cap came along and they had to completely rethink the business plan. JFJ wanted to tear down and rebuild as early as (I think) 2006 but the higher ups (f*** you Peddie and Tannanbaum) wouldn't let him.

Then blowhard burke came in and was going to make a cup contender in five years by cruising the scrap heaps; fail.

Finally got it right with Lou and Shanahan with the total tear down and rebuild. That was painful to watch but necessary.

Now we have the same offence that we had in those 92-93 teams. Better actually in terms of depth. What we are missing though is a shut down bottom 6 that is gritty and proper defence. This four lines of offence strategy is ...meh....

We have all the high priced pieces, those pieces that never get traded away. The pieces that are missing are much easier to aquire. We have a plethora of top 6 guys that other teams would love to trade for. We need a modern version of Peter Zezel and Bob Rouse to start. Having said that the current trading landscape has slowed to a crawl, with the implications of the salary cap really biting hard. Might not be as easy as I like to think.

My concern is we have a GM who is allergic to anything that is not offence (he did get Muzzin though which is a step in the right direction) We are so, so close to being a contender. A couple moves in the right direction and I would agree with the OP, but we aren't there yet.

 

[Deuce Awesome]

Y'all laugh but they are the best team in the east. Coaching was holding them back. They're gonna catch Boston. Whether they can beat blues/Avs is a different story but they are coming out of the east.
Bookmark me.

I will. Bruins are still the better team. We aren't far behind though.

 

[Love]

Y'all laugh but they are the best team in the east. Coaching was holding them back. They're gonna catch Boston. Whether they can beat blues/Avs is a different story but they are coming out of the east.
Bookmark me.

I like the Leafs team but I don’t know why anyone would take them over Washington, Tampa, Boston, or Pittsburgh.

 

[Kamiccolo]

I like the Leafs team but I don’t know why anyone would take them over Washington, Tampa, Boston, or Pittsburgh.

If you've been a fan for any length of time you know regular season means nothing. Not saying the Leafs are a favorite, but I would say that every single team has weaknesses and the Leafs in a group of teams who most wouldn't be shocked if they won.

Leafs are still a work in progress like a lot of teams. They've been top 5 in GA/ game since the coaching change, and while they just had a meh stretch of defensive play for about 3 games, overall they have been pretty decent defensively.

But I am a Leaf fan so not going to get excited about anything until they actually do it.

 

[Pure Slaughter Value]

I like the Leafs team but I don’t know why anyone would take them over Washington, Tampa, Boston, or Pittsburgh.

I think they're right in there with that group.

I would put Washington and Boston at the top for obvious reasons. Toronto, Pitt and Tampa are in their own tier, just slightly below Washington and Boston. One's got to get over the hump, one needs to have a healthy team heading into the playoffs and one is arguably the most talented team in the league coming off an incredible regular season and brutal playoffs.

 

[bobholly39]

I'm a Habs fan.

To me it's always been the Leafs or McDavid. I think both teams are good enough to win a cup (well Oilers suck, but McDavid..) and expect those cores to nab one.

While others got excited about Jets/Flames - i don't think either roster is good enough to win one. And clearly, Canucks and Sens are too far off to be in contention (and more than just far off - i don't think their prospects/young cores are projected to be good enough to win one yet, without major adds).

Habs are a wild card, because of Price. Could have a perfect storm happen and win before anyone else, something Montreal usually finds a way to do with Stanley Cups. Of course - my being a Habs fan probably helps sway my opinion here.

Coming back to OP - Toronto could very well be the one. As a Habs fan i'm supposed to hate them - but i cant deny the entertainment factor that would be involved if it came to happen

 

[chethejet]

IN the end, goal tending wins cups. Not sure Toronto has that. Tampa has the best goal tender in the Atlantic and that will surface come playoff time. Boston is up and down so who knows.

 

[NyQuil]

IN the end, goal tending wins cups. Not sure Toronto has that. Tampa has the best goal tender in the Atlantic and that will surface come playoff time. Boston is up and down so who knows.

You don’t necessarily need a great goalie.

You just need a hot one at the right time.

Not to say that Andersen isn’t any good, but just that you don’t need a star goalie to win the Cup.

That’s why I don’t really understand throwing tons of money at a goalie when you never really know how they will perform at that time of the year.

 

[ER89]

Amazing. In November the sky was falling and now they’re back to being the greatest team ever assembled and well on their way to the cup. Sheldon Keefe is the greatest coach to ever live!!!

Still better than the islanders.

 

[LD29]

No, it'll be Quebec. You'll have to wait another century.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

No Canadian team is winning the cup until the Canadiens apologize to the Kings.

 

[CrosbyMalkin]

They were supposed to win the cup last year, this year was supposed to be their second cup.

That's the thing, we been seeing threads like this 3 years in a row. You think they would shut up and wait until they actually win a few playoff rounds before they start talking like Cup Champ.

I think the Pens are playing like the 2016 version. I have seen that team win the Cup and know what to look for. That doesn't mean it is a guarantee but they are playing at a dominant level.

The reason some people haven't noticed the dominant level of play is due to all the injuries. Pens have been without several of their best players all season long. It just changes who those players are. For example at the beginning of the season it was Malkin, Rust, Letang, and others and now it is Crosby, Guentzel, Dumoulin, and others. It is not the man games lost which is high but who the man games have been which is our top players including our top 4 forwards and top 2 defenseman along with other top 9 forwards and top 4 defenseman. Despite all these injuries the Pens have the best point differential in the NHL and one of the best records on pace for 110 points. Performing at that level with all your best players missing considerable time is amazing.

That depth is what the Leafs can't match due to that $40.5 million in cap space to 4 players. When the Pens top 4 are $31.5 million that allows Rutherford $9 million more cap space to build a Cup contender with depth than your GM. That is a big advantage and the Leafs could not be near the top if there top of the league if their top 4 forwards and top 2 defenseman missed significant time with several other top players out at the same time. If Leafs had the Pens situation they would be bottom feeders and that is why they will be very lucky if they pull out a Cup. Winning 4 rounds in the playoffs is a grueling process and you have to win through adversity. Pens team has done that this season and in all Cup years.

This Leafs core team hasn't won a playoff round even without adversity. This year they are still behind the Pens while being a much healthier team. Winning the Cup is hard and while I think this is the best Pens team since 2016 version in no way am I saying the Cup is ours. I think the Pens are the best team when healthy but so was Tampa last year and we see what happened to them. Almost every Cup winner wins a tough game 7 in some round to get them through. Takes a lot of luck and working through adversity. Leafs would have to beat 3 better teams in the East just to get to the Cup. At this time they would play the Lighting 1st round, 2nd round Bruins, 3rd round Caps or Pens. I can't see them making it through that murderers row of all experienced Cup winners 3 rounds in a row. Maybe this is the year they win around but even that would be an upset. Stranger things can happen in the NHL. It might just click for them but I don't think they play playoff hockey or are built for it.

By the way it wouldn't be any easier if they would of been a Metro team either. They would play either the Caps or Pens in the first round and then the other in the second round. Then play the winner of the Bruins and Lightning in the 3rd round. So no matter how they position themselves they have to beat 3 Cup winning experienced teams that in my opinion are better than them. Until they actually start winning a few playoff rounds they should tred lightly on this type of talk. It makes them look amusing and ridiculous to most of us and to many of your own fans. Sorry Leaf fans that don't talk like this. You don't deserve to get this barage.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

I seriously hope not.

 

[Dustin]

As a long time Leafs fan I need to see results not believe that they will happen. This team has yet to make it out of the first round. The cup is incredibly hard to win and being talented is not enough. It takes all kinds of things including luck and that's never been the Leafs forte.

 

[ole ole]

I seriously hope not.

No worries.

 

[CrosbyMalkin]

Y'all laugh but they are the best team in the east. Coaching was holding them back. They're gonna catch Boston. Whether they can beat blues/Avs is a different story but they are coming out of the east.
Bookmark me.

We will, but that post is laughable and lets us know you must be a newbie to watching hockey. Anyone that makes it a guarantee that they will represent the East is delusional. With Bruins, Lightning, Caps, and Pens all Cup experienced teams to make it through 3 rounds of that isn't likely for any of them let alone the Leafs. I would give any one of those teams less than a 40% chance to represent the East. I would say this statement though. I give it a 95% chance that one of Pens, Caps, Bruins, or Lightning represent the East. That has happened 100 percent of the time for a while now. Try winning a round once against any of those 4 teams before saying you are going through 3 rounds of beating those teams.

 

[solidmotion]

We will, but that post is laughable and lets us know you must be a newbie to watching hockey. Anyone that makes it a guarantee that they will represent the East is delusional. With Bruins, Lightning, Caps, and Pens all Cup experienced teams to make it through 3 rounds of that isn't likely for any of them let alone the Leafs. I would give any one of those teams less than a 40% chance to represent the East. I would say this statement though. I give it a 95% chance that one of Pens, Caps, Bruins, or Lightning represent the East. That has happened 100 percent of the time for a while now. Try winning a round once against any of those 4 teams before saying you are going through 3 rounds of beating those teams.

the pens, caps and lightning all lost in the first round last season. pens and lightning were swept lol. but go off.