Team: 2022-23 Toronto Maple Leafs

Initial Creation Date: Feb. 17, 2023

Published: Feb. 18, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Leafs GM Kyle Dubas must decide to go all in right now, it’s now or never with this team, the core isn’t going to get better any than what it is now. Tavares is in his 30s and MatthewsMarnerNylander they’re not getting any younger, their d-core is solid, and the goaltending is there for them with Samsonov. The players on the team deserve an all in effort, the fans deserve it. Dubas needs to consider this team’s strengths, and one of their major strengths is their scouting, which is among the best in the league. With that said, we don’t need first round picks.
We need playoff success and we need it now, because we’re at a point where Matthews has only one season left on his contract after this season. How are we going to convince this American superstar to stay in Toronto, and how will we convince Mitch Marner and all these other stars to want to stay if Matthews leaves the team.
How do you expect the fans to remain enthusiastic if this team suffers yet another first round defeat. If you’re superstar player decides he wants to leave. Put yourself in the shoes of a Leafs fan. The Leafs haven’t won a playoff round since 2004, and they haven’t won a championship since 1967. To make matters worse for the fans. The Leafs have now lost 10 consecutive series closing games. They are 0-10 in games where they could’ve advanced to the next round. 0-10, that’s not only crazy, it’s haunting. To anyone on the team, to anyone that supports the team. As horrible as it feels as a fan to see it happen every year, it feels far worse for the actual players themselves, all of which have never experienced any playoff success. They put everything on the line, just to lose as a result of unexplainable bad luck, some including me might consider it a supernatural effect at work. In reality, it’s just been a combination of bad luck, and us being stuck in the most difficult division, our first round opponents have gone on to make the finals in 3 of the last 4 seasons. Our most recent loss against Tampa may have been tragic, but I would argue that despite the way it went, they put up a performance that I haven’t ever seen out of them. Their level of performance all around was impressive despite the loss, and I would argue that they were the 3rd best team in the 2022 playoffs. The only problem they had is that Tampa was the 2nd best team in the playoffs. I have absolutely no doubt that if Toronto was given any other opponent, other than Colorado or Tampa, they would’ve made the 2nd round in 6 games or less. That’s how good they played. Still, Tampa played only slightly better, we still did not outplay the opponent. It looks extremely likely that our first round opponent is going to be Tampa yet again. That’s going to be a problem, because Tampa is a playoff force, they had the upper hand on us last season, there is no reason to assume that this time would be any different, unless we bring in another high impact player. Timo Meier on the Leafs. Leafs need to make the biggest splash in the playoffs. To the point where Tampa feels intimidated by us, rather us being intimidated by them. This is physical, and psychological warfare. Lets show the team that it’s time for an all in effort, and that Toronto is a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.
Update: This was written only hours before the O’Reilly trade, The O’Reilly trade happened before I got the chance to post this. I praise Kyle Dubas for making that trade happen, and restoring my hope for a Leafs championship run!