2022 Is All About Results For High-Octane Maple Leafs

With a new calendar year fast approaching, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in a very good place – second spot in the Atlantic Division, with 20 wins in 30 games. The question, of course, is whether they can replicate that type of dominance when it really counts, in the playoffs.

We should expect Leafs GM Kyle Dubas to make a few more roster moves before the NHL’s March 21 trade deadline, so it’s hard to look at where Toronto will be at the end of the regular season. The deals Dubas makes likely won’t be blockbuster in nature, but rather, a handful of trades that add depth to the Leafs’ wings and defense corps.

Otherwise, it’s all up to the pieces Toronto already has in place to do the heavy lifting. Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander and Mitch Marner will be asked to shoulder the load up front, while veteran defensemen Morgan Rielly and T.J. Brodie, as well as No. 1 goalie Jack Campbell, have done their jobs on the back end. Any serious injury to one of those seven players could derail the Leafs’ season, but if the Buds are lucky enough to be back to full strength by the time the playoffs begin, they have more than enough offensive weaponry and defensive acumen to be considered a frontrunner to go on a deep Stanley Cup tournament run.

If it feels a little fragile in Toronto, it’s understandable. Because of their past histories of stunning collapses and dramatic swings, the Leafs aren’t going to be celebrated by anybody without a bare-minimum first-round playoff series win. Even then, let’s say the Buds win their first-round series, but get smoked and swept in the second round. Anyone going to be pleased with that? It’s true only one NHL team each year can boast of ultimate success, but following up a first-round victory with a one-sided failure in the next round is still going to trigger calls for Toronto’s core to be broken up.

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That doesn’t mean you trade the whole core. Under no circumstances should Auston Matthews be moved. Rielly just signed a team-friendly contract extension and is playing the best hockey of his NHL career. You’re not moving him. Nor are you trading Campbell. It’ll be a tough-enough challenge to get the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent signed to a new deal. But the better Campbell plays, the more Toronto has to move heaven and earth to retain him. And captain John Tavares isn’t going to be given up on in his short time as a Leaf.

If the Leafs fall short of at least one playoff series victory, Dubas may no longer be Toronto’s GM. This is why it’s likely he’ll spend every last cent of salary cap space this year to give the Leafs as deep and experienced a unit as he can

There can be no more excuses after this season. Hockey is a business of results, and Toronto’s results need to show improvement. Either the Leafs clear the psychic hurdle of the first round and play to their capabilities after that, or things will not look the same for them in the 2022-23 campaign. It feels complex, but it’s really that simple. Win, and everybody stays where they are. Maybe beloved forward Jason Spezza returns for one more kick at the can. Maybe other UFA talents see their potential and choose to join the Leafs on the type of one-year, cheap contracts that Toronto needs to supplement the big monies paid to their stars.

Lose, though, and we’re in uncharted territory with this group of Leafs. Management and ownership won’t be able to justify the status quo. Roster alterations will follow. And as noted, there may even be a management change.

Hopefully, for Leafs fans, 2022 will be markedly better than the past 55 years have been to them.