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Gauging the Maple Leafs Roster Moving Forward |
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June 24th will be a memorable day in Leafs history when Toronto selects their first-overall pick, the first since Wendel Clark back in 1985. The Maple Leafs had a twenty percent chance of winning the first selection overall, the hockey gods finally spoke when the final ball sealed the deal. Tears of joy were spread across the greater Toronto area and horns a blazed down the Queen Elizabeth Way, all the way to Buffalo to ensure they knew the Leafs have won the lottery and Auston Matthews.
This piece of the puzzle is one of the most important you can get, it’s like a corner piece. Now you know what they mean by adding a cornerstone to the team, Auston Matthews will be just that.
This solidifies the Leafs having some depth up the middle with Kadri resigning for another six years with a 4.5 million dollar cap hit. Bozak being signed another two seasons at 4.2 million and youngster William Nylander could be looking at playing a combination of wing and center this upcoming season, pending what other additions the Leafs have. Options include trading Bozak, resining RFA Peter Holland or signing Steven Stamkos to a mega-deal, all of which indicate the Maple Leafs have some quality players at center, something they haven’t had since the Sundin era.
There is something to be said about teams having high-end players down the middle, as it’s one of the qualities that most if not all Stanley Cup teams possess. Depth down the middle is a key to success in the NHL and acquiring a legit number one center may be the hardest position to fill.
Looking at the Leafs depth before this year’s 2016 NHL Draft, you will notice the Buds are thin on defensive prospects compared to forward prospects, but are looking rather weak in the goaltending department. Expect this to be resolved at the upcoming draft and free agency. There are a number of different ways the Leafs management can go about this, whether it be the long term plan of strictly drafting, or using picks and prospects through trade to acquire specific pieces they see fitting.
Goaltending:
Bernier
Sparks
Bibeau
Kaskisuo
There aren’t many pro-Bernier fans left in Leafs Nation. He still is our best current option, and by quite a bit it seems at this point in time with Sparks and Bibeau on the Marlies and not exactly playing at an elite level. Again, goalies are extremely hard to gauge as they can have a bad game, week, month or season. I’m very interested to see what Lamoriello and Shanahan have as a plan to shore up their goaltending.
Maple Leafs signed Finnish goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo to an entry-level contract. The 22 year old has inked a two year contract with Toronto; he’s 6’3” and weighs 200 pounds. A large chunk of his development and growth as a professional is complete after spending the last few seasons playing for Minnesota Wilderness and Minnesota-Duluth. Kasimir got two starts in with the Marlies last season, and had 5 goals scored against him in 2 games, combining for a .905 save percent and 2.4 goals against; he won a game and tied in the other. I’m intrigued to see what plans management has for the Finnish goaltender.
Looking at this year’s draft we know Toronto has a number of draft pick, here are a few goalies they could look at drafting after the first round:
Carter Hart – Everett (WHL) [round 2-3]
Evan Fitzpatrik – Sherbrooke (QMJHL) [round 2-3]
Tyler Parsons – London (OHL) [round 2-3]
Filip Gustavsson – Lulea HF J20 (SuperElit) [round 3-4]
Zachary Sawchenko – Moose Jaw (WHL) [round 3-4]
Connor Ingram – Kamloops (WHL) [round 3-4]
Mikhail Berdin – Team Russia U18 (MHL) [round 3-4]
Joseph Woll – USNTDP [round 3-4]
It’s likely one or two of these goaltenders are drafted by the Maple Leafs in this year’s upcoming draft.
Defense:
Morgan Rielly
Jake Gardiner
Nikita Zaitsev
Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick
MartinMarincin
Frank Corrado
Travis Dermott
Andrew Nielsen
Rinat Valiev
Scott Harrington
Viktor Loov
TJ Brennan
Morgan Rielly is a stud. Thankfully Burke did well and drafted us Morgan, as he is the future of the Maple Leafs defense and continues to improve his overall game. Babcock has the power to make Rielly even that much better, look for number 44 to have a break out year in 2016/17.
After Rielly there is a bit of a drop off in talent for the Maple Leafs, smooth skating Jake Gardiner just may be the next best NHL defensemen at this point in time. I’m a firm believer that by mid-season the Leafs and their fans will be thrilled with the addition of Nikita Zaitsev.
Another player I think will really continue to grow is Connor Carrick; he excelled with the Maple Leafs and Marlies after being traded from Washington in the Daniel Winnik trade. I’d even go as far as saying I could see Carrick being in the top four if he continues to progress as he has been. Again, Babcock will be worth every penny as he teaches all these young players all the little things that it takes to be a successful NHL player.
Hunwick is signed for 1.2 million next season, and will likely secure one of the six defense positions on opening night. This leaves quite the battle for the final two spot in Marincin, Corrado, Harrington and Percy, all of which are RFA’s. If you can read through the lines here, you will come up with the writing on the wall; there is a trade to be made.
Other defensive prospects such as Loov, Nielsen, Valiev and Dermott are still being assessed and have multiple years left on their first contracts. Personally, I think Dermott and Nielsen look to be the best out of this bunch and have a good chance to make the Maple Leafs in the future. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of them have the potential that Rielly has in being a top pairing defenseman.
Without question the Leafs need to use one, if not both picks around 29-31 to draft the best player(s) available, and I really hope they grab a couple defensemen with those picks. Logically, they could then use other second and third round picks to scoop up goaltending prospects as mentioned above. Hunter can then pluck a few late round gems as I am sure he has a few up his sleeve.
Forwards:
Center:
*Matthews
Kadri
Nylander (could play wing this season)
Bozak
Holland
Laich
Greening
Laich has one year left at 4.5 million and he will likely be thanked for his services after the season is completed. Holland is the wildcard to me, he started last year in Babcock’s doghouse and was able to bark his way out of it and get some decent playing time as the season went on. He was ok, but rarely stood out to me as a dynamic player that will solidify a position on the club. He’s a RFA and the Leafs will have to make an executive decision on whether or not they see Holland in their future plans. Bozak still has a couple seasons left on his contract and should be used through trade if the Leafs can find someone looking for a decent second line center, especially if they have any plans of adding Stamkos.
Nylander can play center or wing, and it will all depend on who the Leafs add through trade or free agency. The good news is, the kid’s got swagger, and he will likely thrive playing on the wing with one of Matthews or Kadri if Babcock chooses to go that route.
Kadri will likely start the season as the first line center, easing Matthews into the spotlight is a wise choice and likely one that will be used by Mr. Babcock as he will be fully responsible for the rise of Matthews in the blue and white. Kadri and Komarov showed some chemistry last season, especially when youngster Soshnikov joined the line towards the end of the season. Unfortunately Soshnikov got banged up and we will have to wait until pre-season before we see Babcock unite the three.
Left Wing:
James Van Riemsdyk
Leo Komarov
Josh Leivo
Brendan Leipsic
Dmytyro Timashov
Andreas Johnson
As mentioned Komarov worked well with Kadri last season, as Uncle Leo is the man of mystery and can do it all. From laying the body, chipping in goals, to chirping the opponent in a number of different languages I expect Leo to stick with ‘the dream’ to see if they can reignite last year’s flame.
James van Riemsdyk was hurt for a large portion of the 2015/16 season and was missed more than anyone else on the Maple Leafs roster, Kessel and Phaneuf included. JVR is the Leafs best winger and will hopefully start the season beside countryman Matthews. It would be wise to have someone with a decent amount of NHL experience on the wing of Matthews to help him ease into the pro game.
There will be quite the battle for the other two left wing positions on lines three and four. Brandon Leipsic and Josh Leivo would be the most likely candidates at this point, with Dmytro Timashov and Andreas Johnson being younger players who have hope to fill the voids in the future.
Dmytro Timashov: 19 years old: Quebec Remparts & Shawinagan Cataractes (QMJHL) combined, 57 games: 22 goals, 63 assists, 85 points in the regular season. 21 games, 13 goals, 15 assists in the playoffs. Timashov I still feel was the steal of the 2015/16 Draft and I have high hopes of him becoming a Maple Leaf in a couple years if he continues to put up points and impress as he has been.
Right Wing:
Marner
Soshnikov
Brown
Kapanen
Hyman
Bracco
Michalek
Quite possibly the best prospect the Maple Leafs have in their system right now is Mitch Marner. After an absolutely dominant season for the Knights, Marner showed he’s mastered that level of hockey (OHL) and is ready to dip his toes into the NHL. Marner is young and small, and certainly has some strengthening to do before he becomes a full time productive professional, but has all the tools to become a dynamic player and a productive one at that. The Leafs will have to ease Marner in if he sticks with the big club, I expect Babcock to bounce Marner around from lines 2-3 and give him some power play time; obviously his role could increase if his play impresses the coaching staff.
A couple big questions marks for the Leafs will be the health of Lupul and what to do with Michalek. Combined those two players make 9.25 million, thankfully Michalek will be gone by seasons end, but Lupul is signed until 2017/18.
Here is where the fight for roster spots gets tricky as the Leafs have Hyman, Soshnikov, Brown, Lindberg and Kapanen all looking to make an impact within the next couple of seasons. There is a very good chance Kapanen and Lindberg start the season for the Marlies, whereas Hyman, Soshnikov and Brown all battle for spots. Of course injuries will happen, so it’s good to have some depth like the Leafs do on the right wing.
What could the opening roster look like as of now:
Komarov-Kadri-Soshnikov
JVR-Matthews-Nylander
Leivo-Bozak-Marner
Leipsic-Laich-Michalek
Rielly-Zaitsev
Gardiner-Carrick
Hunwick-Marincin
Corrado
Bernier
Sparks/Kaskisuo/Bibeau
Obviously there will be some changes when the season starts, but this gives you a decent idea of where the Leafs stand talent wise up and down the pipeline.
Thanks for reading, enjoy the final game(s) of the Cup Finals as Pittsburgh is a game away from hoisting the cup.
Blogger •Atlantic Division Writer • 
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