CAN’T GET OVER HURDLE
TYPICALLY, WHEN A
team loads up on high draft picks who then become stars, and then that team mortgages first-round picks in trades to load up, it’s fair to expect that team is a contender going all-in for the final pieces. Yet the Leafs have developed their stars and burned all their draft capital and have nothing to show for it but a bushel of first-round playoff defeats. They’re still not good enough, and they no longer have the first-round picks to keep adding top talent. They’ll have to hit big on later-round gems. IMMEDIATE NEEDS: Few teams have an immediate need more widely known and loudly trumpeted than Toronto’s yearning for a top-four, rightshot D-man who can handle difficult defensive assignments and shut down the opposition. LONG-TERM NEEDS: The Leafs remain loaded on offense, ranking third in scoring in 2019-20, but they need more players who specialize in stopping the other team from scoring. That means padding the system with reliable defensive defensemen and forwards with good work ethic and two-way acumen. The Leafs could really use an Anthony Cirelli-type prospect, for instance. CAP SITUATION: Toronto missed its window to win a Cup while its star forwards were on entry-level pacts. Now Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander combine with John Tavares to eat more than $40 million of cap space. With D-man Jake Muzzin’s extension kicking in and Travis Dermott an RFA, the Leafs have no cash flow for UFA upgrades. GM Kyle Dubas will have to make a trade instead.
IN THE SYSTEM 2020-21: Defenseman Timothy Liljegren stayed healthy long enough to build momentum and make an impact as a super-skilled puckmover in the AHL and played 11 NHL games. Especially because he plays the right side, he’s more likely than not to open 2020-21 on the Leafs’ roster.
DID YOU KNOW: Prospect Nick Robertson scored 55 goals in 46 OHL games. That’s the league’s seventh-highest goalsper-game rate of all-time.