Analyst and former GM comments on how prepared he believes the Leafs actually are for the playoffs
With the Leafs just one Florida Panthers loss away from clinching a playoff spot, there has been plenty of talk since the trade deadline about how the acquisitions of Noel Acciari, Sam Lafferty, Ryan O'Reilly, Jake McCabe, Luke Schenn and Erik Gustafsson have made the Leafs a completely different team. The six additions made by Kyle Dubas in the weeks and days leading up to the deadline added some much-needed size, physicality and versatility to both the forward and defensive groups.
As Sheldon Keefe continues to experiment with line combinations to see what does and does not work, the new additions are starting to find their place in the lineup with the most notable being Jake McCabe, who has taken over Morgan Rielly's spot on the top pairing with T.J. Brodie, allowing Rielly to play a more sheltered role, which has allowed him to be at his best. Calle Jarnkrok seems to be thriving alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and the Leafs seem to have a number of effective combinations in their bottom six. In addition, all of Ilya Samsonov, Matt Murray and Joseph Woll have given the Leafs quality starts this year. This might be the deepest Leafs team we've seen in nearly 20 years.
Following the Leafs' 3-2 win over Nashville last night, TSN's Craig Button weighed in on the current construction of the Leafs' roster and how he thinks they will fair in the playoffs. "I think that the Leafs are built to adapt to different situations and to play different styles as the game dictates. And for that reason, I think they're in a much better position to win the first round. This is a Leafs team that I think is better built for the different challenges that a team faces come playoff time."
I don't normally agree with Button, but in this case he is right. The Leafs have the ability to play in a track meet, a tighter defensive game and a physical game. They will almost certainly need to play all three types of games if they want to beat Tampa this year. Button believes they can and so do I.
| POLL | ||
MARS 27 | 809 ANSWERS Analyst and former GM comments on how prepared he believes the Leafs actually are for the playoffs Is this Leafs team the one who will finally win in the playoffs? | ||
| Yes | 412 | 50.9 % |
| No | 87 | 10.8 % |
| Maybe a round or 2, but not the Cup | 246 | 30.4 % |
| They'll go all the way | 64 | 7.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
