As October creeps closer, another NHL season creeps with it.
In the 18th of a series of team-by-team summer reviews and season previews, here's a glimpse at the ...
Toronto Maple Leafs
After three straight seasons of no playoffs, the Maple Leafs took the next step in Year 2 of the Mike Babcock era in 2016-17, scoring the most goals (251) in the Atlantic Division and the fifth most in the NHL in part due to a 40-goal campaign from Calder Trophy winner Auston Matthews. A 1-8 stretch to end the season was a dismal entrance to the postseason, but Toronto (40-27-15) was no slouch against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals in the opening round, sending all but one of the two teams' six meetings to overtime and at one point holding a 2-1 series lead. They were ultimately eliminated by the Caps in overtime, but their high-scoring potential wasn't lost on fans already eyeing 2017-18.
Still in search of the team's first playoff series victory since 2003-04, general manager Lou Lamoriello and president Brendan Shanahan spent the summer putting some notable finishing touches, or so the franchise thinks, on what Toronto views as a Stanley Cup contender moving forward.
The moves
Key additions: F Patrick Marleau (Sharks), D Ron Hainsey (Penguins), F Dominic Moore (Bruins)
Key losses: D Matt Hunwick (Penguins), F Brian Boyle (Devils)
There are plenty of reasons for Maple Leafs fans to be excited about Marleau joining the fold opposite Matthews. Giving him a three-year deal worth $18.75 million still seems like an awfully steep price for a 37-year-old winger who is bound to keep declining over the course of the deal, but if the focus is on Toronto's prospects in 2017-18, the move not only gives the longtime Sharks captain an elite, high-speed change of scenery but also injects a ton of playoff experience into the Maple Leafs offense.
Hainsey and Moore, meanwhile, more than make up for Hunwick's move to Pittsburgh, giving the team a pair of proven depth pieces. The former, who opened the 2016-17 campaign with the Hurricanes, comes right from a Stanley Cup winner to give Toronto yet another obvious upgrade in postseason experience.
The verdict
The sudden outpouring of offense from Matthews and 20-year-old Mitchell Marner sure made this team scary in a hurry. Their offense was a top-five juggernaut in 2016-17, and that's without the anticipated contributions of Marleau. Between that trio and other key names like Moore, Connor Brown, Tyler Bozak and recently re-signed Zach Hyman, the Maple Leafs shouldn't have too much trouble lighting the lamp as often as they did a season ago, if not more. And come playoff time, assuming injuries haven't taken their toll to an extreme, the experience of the vets like Marleau should come in handy even more, aiding Toronto in a situation where the team was forced to rely on its youth and speed last spring.
Defensively, question marks remain. Timothy Liljegren is an intriguing pick to add to the blue line, but his impact won't come right out of the gate. Hainsey is a rock-solid, low-risk addition, but his presence alone probably isn't going to dramatically alter the team's defense. And yet these questions don't seem threatening enough to strip the Maple Leafs of contender status. If their offensive firepower produces at a level even close to 2016-17, they should be on a rather straight path back to the postseason, especially in a division that features, at best, two near-locks for playoff contention in the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens. The rest, from the Ottawa Senators all the way down to the Detroit Red Wings, are either fringe teams or due for a decline.
