For the month of June, Last Word On Sports will be covering each team in our 30 in 30 series. Once a day, we take a look at an NHL team’s past season, what their off-season looks like, and what they could hope to achieve before the start of their 2015-16 season. Everybody wants to get better and improve upon last season’s success or downfall and NHL’s 30 in 30 gives you that analysis and preview you need to get you by during another long and grueling summer season. 30 days in June, 30 teams to cover. Starting on June 1st we start from the bottom and make our way to the very top.
Today’s team: The Toronto Maple Leafs. Check out our previous 30 in 30 articles here.
NHL’s 30 in 30: Toronto Maple Leafs
Finishing 27th overall, the Toronto Maple Leafs posted a record of 30-44-8 to end up with just 68 points. Their home record was decent considering where they placed in the standings, as they went 22-17-2. They won as many games at home as the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild, two teams that made the playoffs. Unfortunately it was their play on the road that led to their downfall, as they went 8-27-6. While they were able to score at ease, the Leafs gave up a surplus of shots every night and got pounded for goals, despite getting decent-to-good goaltending from both James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier.
The 2014-15 Regular Season
If there’s one thing the Toronto Maple Leafs had going for them, it was their scoring. Three forwards hit the 20-goal plateau, as Phil Kessel (25), James Van Riemsdyk (28) and Tyler Bozak (23) led the charge for the Leafs offensively. In the months of October and November, the team went on a roller-coaster ride, winning two and then losing three, winning three then losing two. If one word could define the Leafs for their start out of the gate, it’s inconsistency. In December, the team hit a high note, going on a six-game winning streak. Defeating both Calgary and Vancouver, a back-to-back against Detroit and then two Californian beasts in Anaheim and Los Angeles, the Maple Leafs were feeling pretty confident about themselves and their position in the standings.
The 9-2 massacre against Nashville was a thing of the past. A 6-2 loss against the Sabres? Buffalo Schmuffalo! Dropping a 6-4 decision to Florida when they had a two goal lead heading into the third period? Just a setback, the Leafs can handle it. There wasn’t a Steve Dangle meltdown that could convince Leafs fans that things weren’t steady.
Then the 18-wheeler went off the cliff.
The month of January treated them like a government mule and Toronto won just one game out of 13, a 5-2 victory over Columbus. Following the 5-1 loss to Winnipeg, head coach Randy Carlyle was fired due to the team being too inconsistent, and was replaced by Peter Horachek on an interim basis. The weaknesses were evident from the get-go. The team’s puck possession numbers were abysmal, Bozak and Kessel were the usual suspects, and the team gave up way more shots than they should have. Their California trip was a forgettable one, as they scored just one goal in the three games combined, getting shutout in two consecutive games. In the month of January, the Leafs were out-scored 42-16, and shut-out four times. A new head coach made no difference and in fact, things started to get worse.
Bleeding into the month of February, the team went on a season-high eleven-game losing streak. The would eventually snap the losing skid by defeating the Edmonton Oilers in a game which Dangle labeled “The Jack-off,” a game to determine who would probably be the 29th place team and winner of the Jack Eichel sweepstakes. Boy, how that went well.
By the time February hit, the Leafs were drowning in their own sorrow and it was time to make the unpopular decision of trading off players with expiring contracts to bring in draft picks and clear up some cap space. Carter Ashton and David Broll were sent to Tampa Bay in exchange for a conditional 2016 7th-round pick (conditions were not met). One of the bigger trades involved both Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli get traded to Nashville in exchange for Olli Jokinen, prospect Brendan Leipsic and a 2015 1st-round pick. The Leafs then made a series of three trades in two days, first sending Daniel Winnik to Pittsburgh in exchange for Zach Sill, a 2015 4th-round pick and a 2016 2nd-round pick. The following day, Spencer Abott was sent to Chicago in exchange for T.J. Brennan, and David Clarkson was sent to Columbus in a shocking deal that saw them receive Nathan Horton.
At the trade deadline, the Leafs sent Jokinen packing to St. Louis for a chance at the Stanley Cup in exchange for Joakim Lindstrom and a conditional 2016 6th-round pick (the conditions were if the Blues made the Stanley Cup Final and Jokinen played a part in it, the pick would be bumped up to a 4th-rounder). Finally, Korbinian Holzer was sent to Anaheim in exchange for Eric Brewer and a 2016 5th-round pick.
After the trade deadline, Toronto won just five of their last 20 games and no amount of jerseys thrown on the ice or paper bags worn on heads could change the fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs were headed for a long off-season full of questions, doubts and changes.
The Off-Season and Free Agents
Heading into the off-season, the Maple Leafs have a total of eleven free agents to decide on. Of the eleven free agents, just four of them are restricted to the team, including forwards Nazem Kadri and Richard Panik, defenseman Tim Erixon and goaltender Jonathan Bernier. Forwards David Booth, Colton Orr, Joakim Lindstrom, Trevor Smith, Zach Sill and Brandon Kozun, and defensemen Eric Brewer are the upcoming unrestricted free agents.
With Brendan Shanahan now calling the shots after Dave Nonis was released, he’ll search for a new replacement to run the team’s operations while Kyle Dubas prepares to assist that general manager. For the time being, a new philosophy is on the horizon in Toronto; they’ll plan on building through the draft which leaves the impression that they won’t be too busy when the free agent market is open. Luckily enough for them, they only have two household names to worry about in Kadri and Bernier.
Bernier has shown at times that he can be a great goaltender, but his inconsistency paired with the Leafs consistent allowance of 40+ shots a game has left him vulnerable. It’ll be hard for him to demand top dollar at this point in his career when you consider some of the other goaltenders in the league. Jonathan Quick makes $5.8 million and he’s won two Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe. Carey Price earns $6 million and he’s almost guaranteed to take home the Hart and Vezina after an inspirational 2014-15 season. Beyond that an you’re looking at three-time Vezina nominee Pekka Rinne, and a pair of Vezina winners in Sergei Bobrovsky and Henrik Lundvist around the same pay grade. Suffice to say, he won’t be making $5 million unless something crazy happens between now and the time of his new contract is signed.
Kadri certainly has the tools to be an elite centre for the Leafs and his progress has been good, but it hasn’t been where it needs to be in order to impress management. Maybe you can chalk it up to the coaching styles of Carlyle and Horachek but the Leafs could look into asking Kadri to show them a little more over the next season or two before they hand out some serious dough.
Another thing the Leafs will have to consider is moving one or both of Kessel and captain Dion Phaneuf. Both make a combined total of $15 million until 2021 and after another miserable season, it may be the end of the road for the two players that Nonis made rather large commitments to. The moves would clear up ample cap space to re-tool, as they’ll have around $12 million to sign a few defensemen and about six forwards if no trades are made. An easy solution would be to lay low and sign guys on the cheap, or using players from the Marlies like Matt Frattin and Sam Carrick, and giving Stuart Percy another shot at being a full-time roster player. They also have the option of re-signing Richard Panik and Tim Erixon, who wouldn’t hurt the cap too much.
The idea of no trades being made is highly unlikely, although moving one or both of Kessel and Phaneuf may be more difficult as their cap hits would involve some heavy asset management on both sides. However, a move involving Bozak or Joffrey Lupul could open up a spot on the roster, clear up some cap space and net a return of a pick or two and/or a prospect. Bozak would be the ideal candidate for a team looking for a second-line centre, while Lupul could be a tough contract to move, due to his health.
The Draft Table
Having added a high-end offensive talent in William Nylander in last year’s draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs can continue to do so with the 4th overall pick of this year’s draft. As Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel are expected to go 1-2, the next three prospects, Noah Hanifin, Dylan Strome and Mitch Marner, are being tossed around, as analysts and experts try to figure out who goes third, fourth and fifth. For the Leafs, any of these three will be a welcome addition to their prospect pool. Marner can play both centre and wing, and is fast and feisty. Scoring 126 points in 63 games last season with the London Knights, he would slot in perfectly on the Leafs top-six. Strome can be the answer for the Leafs in terms of size, strength and excellent puck skills, and he also has excellent bloodlines. If the Leafs want a defenseman, look no further than Hanifin. Great at both ends of the ice, Hanifin can also quarterback a powerplay and could project to be a Ryan McDonagh-caliber defenseman.
The Leafs also own the 24th pick, thanks to the trade involving Franson and Santorelli, and in such a deep draft even a low-end first round pick could turn out to be a good player. They’ll need to make due, as the Leafs have no second round pick. Depending on who is available or if a player they have on the board is no longer there, Shanahan could explore the option of trading down in exchange for a pair of second-rounders, or a second and a third to stock up on some potential steals. If not, names like wingers Brock Boeser, Jansen Harkins or Daniel Sprong would be suitable fits and defensemen like Jakub Zboril, Jeremy Roy or Noah Juulsen could be names to consider.
Shanahan and company also have multiple picks in the following rounds. They’ll pick 65th, 95th, 107th, 125th and 155th.
Catching the big fish
How could we end this look into the Maple Leafs off-season without mentioning the biggest splash so far, the hiring of head coach Mike Babcock. Leaving behind an impressive legacy in Detroit, Babcock was in talks with multiple teams, including the St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks, but ultimately chose the Toronto Maple Leafs, signing an 8-year deal worth $50 million.
“I think Mike Babcock is a phenomenal coach and we’re really lucky to get him,” Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, said in video posted by Sportsnet. “As everyone knows we weren’t the only one bidding for his services.”
In 12 seasons as head coach of both the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings, Babcock boasts an impressive record of 527-285-119 and 19 ties. He led the Ducks, then known as the Mighty Ducks, to the Stanley Cup Final in the infamous series against the New Jersey Devils and also made the Final again in two straight years as coach of the Red Wings, both times against the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning the Cup in 2008.
Babcock brings an experienced background that has gone recognized by the hockey world for years. While nobody expects the Leafs to go from a laughing stock in the league to a Stanley Cup contender overnight, the hiring of Babcock is one giant leap in the right direction. With a few moves to be pulled, drafting and building through the draft and properly developing those studs with time an patience, the Toronto Maple Leafs could turn things around in a 3-5 year window. It’s not a sprint but a marathon and luckily for the Leafs, it’s a marathon they can now dream about winning.
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