This Maple Leafs Team Could Be The Best In The Past 50 Years

As we get closer to the playoffs, are we witnessing the best Toronto Maple Leafs team of the past 50 years?

As of Friday, I`ll have officially reached the 50-year-old stage of my life. Virtually all of it has included an attachment to the Toronto Maple Leafs. As I`ve said elsewhere, my grandmother worked in the old CCM plant in northwest Toronto, and she would always bring home autographs from the players who traveled out there to pick up equipment. Laurie Boschman, Rocky Saganuik, Darryl Sittler – they were all icons to 10-year-old me, even if some of them weren’t the superstars of the era.

Then I got older and realized how troubled the Leafs’ organization was under owner Harold Ballard. I learned first-hand how Ballard was cynical and corrosive – we ran into him at the Church Street entrance of Maple Leafs Gardens, and when we asked for an autograph, Ballard handed us a pre-printed card with his signature on it. It felt fake. It felt disingenuous. And when he forced Sittler out of town, traded Lanny McDonald, and isolated the great Borje Salming, it was a sign Ballard didn`t, or couldn`t, provide the kind of ownership support you need for a genuine Stanley Cup contender.

It`s sad to say, but when Ballard died on April 11, 1990 – almost exactly 32 years ago, it was as if the cloud that constantly hovered over the franchise finally lifted, and the trajectory of the Leafs finally turned in the right direction. Future Hockey Hall of Famer Cliff Fletcher arrived the next year, and transformed Toronto`s lineup with blockbuster trades you rarely, if ever, see anymore. It became the Doug Gilmour Era, and the Buds made memorable runs to the conference final in 1993 and 1994. It became a thrill to cheer for the Leafs again. Later, Mats Sundin arrived, and Curtis Joseph signed to be Toronto’s starting goalie.

I`m telling you all this for a reason: in a half-decade of watching this team, I`ve seen awful rosters and I`ve seen excellent rosters. But I really believe Toronto`s current lineup has the potential to be the best Leafs team in the modern age. Yes, everyone knows and are worried about their defense and goaltending, and that`s a fair concern. But I think Buds GM Kyle Dubas has put together the deepest, most competitive lineup I`ve seen. And in the coming post-season, the Leafs have enough talent to make a very deep run.

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Why? Let’s start with Auston Matthews. In my opinion, the Leafs have never had a player of this caliber, never a force so dominant, as the 24-year-old center. As we’ve seen numerous times in his NHL career, Matthews has shown he can impose his will on a game at any point, in a way few NHLers have the ability to do. He has improved his game this season and will be the winner of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the league’s top goal-scorer. With 58 goals in 68 games this year, Matthews will likely break the 60–goal plateau, and he is the frontrunner to win the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player. He already has a prominent place in Leafs history, and he won’t surprise anyone if he finds a way to translate that success into the post-season.

Let’s also talk about Matthews’ linemate, winger Mitch Marner. What Marner lacks in size, he makes up for in vision and creativity. Without Marner’s considerable skills, Matthews would have a tougher time getting to 60 goals. It’s true he hasn’t had similar success in the playoffs, but he’s also only 24, and he could finally break through and help Toronto get out of the first round and establish themselves as a genuine Cup threat.

The Leafs’ impressive depth goes all the way down the roster, from the second, third and fourth forward lines – where head coach Sheldon Keefe has all kinds of options, from veterans Jason Spezza and Wayne Simmonds, to the newly-acquired Colin Blackwell, former collegiate youngster Nick Abruzzeze, and rugged winger Kyle Clifford – to their defense corps, which got a huge boost at the trade deadline with the acquisition of Norris Trophy winner Mark Giordano.

Auston Matthews is leading the race for the Hart Trophy.#LeafsForever #NHL #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/xXBpIpfwv5

— Full Press Hockey (@FullPressNHL) April 11, 2022

By the time the playoffs arrive at the end of this month, Keefe could have just as many options on defense, especially if youngster Rasmus Sandin returns from injury. Toronto’s main four blueliners – Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Jake Muzzin, and Giordano – have earned their place in the lineup. The final two defense spots will be filled by two of Sandin, Timothy Lilegren, Justin Holl, Ilya Lyubushkin. Toronto’s healthy scratches would probably be starters on many, if not most other teams. The playoffs are all about adapting and overcoming from game to game, and the Leafs have the ability to change their look in many areas if they run into trouble early. Even in the Fletcher years, Toronto never had the depth they do today.

None of this is to suggest it will be easy for this Leafs team to carve out a notable place in team history. There’s a psychological bridge they have to cross for the first time, but if they do make it out of the opening round, the hockey world could be their oyster. And I think that’s just as possible as it is if they crap out and disappoint Leafs fans yet again. You never know what the playoffs will bring, but I can absolutely see a destiny where Matthews and Marner lead their team to many playoff victories.

In 50 years of being a Leafs-watcher, I’ve never been more intrigued by a particular Toronto team as I am with this one. They are different than any other Leafs squad, and they can control their future more than any Toronto lineup has ever had the chance to do. In any case, it’s going to be fascinating to see how it all plays out.

But the talent is there. The learning experiences of the past are there. Because of that, this very well could be the best Leafs’ team most of us have ever seen.