Comparing this current Leafs group to the one from opening night one year ago
Since the Leafs signed Ryan Reaves, John Klingberg, Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, there has been a lot of public discussion as to whether or not the Leafs, as they stand, are better or worse than they were last season.
The Leafs loaded up at this past trade deadline, bringing in 6 new players in Ryan O'Reilly, Noel Acciari, Luke Schenn, Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty and Erik Gustafsson, but lost each of O'Reilly, Acciari, Schenn and Gustafsson. With McCabe and Lafferty having term when the Leafs acquired them, both currently remain in Toronto.
There are very few teams who retain their entire roster from their previous playoff run, so it would be unfair to criticize the Leafs for not being able to bring everyone back, so in all fairness, it might make more sense to compare where the Leafs are now versus where they were on opening night in 2022-23, so let's take a look at the Leafs, opening night roster from last season.
Bunting - Matthews - MarnerNylander - Tavares - MalginEngvall - Kerfoot - JarnkrokAston-Reese - Kampf - Aube-Kubel
Rielly - Brodie Muzzin - HollGiordano - Sandin
As I recall, there was a lot of buzz about how complete of a team the Leafs appeared to be heading into last season. Of course, as we well know, the top six was fine in terms of production, but a very defense-focused bottom six was unable to provide very much secondary scoring.
Early in the season, we saw Jake Muzzin injured and both Malgin and Aube-Kubel traded, which forced the Leafs' hand and provided some very different looks from top to bottom. They also ended up dealing Pierre Engvall and Rasmus Sandin before the deadline.
Now, let's take a quick peak at how things are shaping up for the 2023-24 Leafs roster. Now, keep in mind, this is an incomplete picture, because the Leafs still have some moves to make, according to GM Brad Treliving, who seems set on tweaking his D corps. We also have no idea what will happen with William Nylander yet. At any rate, here's where we currently stand:
Bertuzzi - Matthews - NylanderDomi - Tavares - MarnerKnies - Kampf - Jarnkrok Lafferty - Holmberg - Reaves
Rielly - BrodieMcCabe - KlingbergGiordano - Liljegren
While most weren't exactly wild about the John Klingberg signing, there's no question that McCabe-Klingberg has the potential to be a really good pairing for the Leafs. Both McCabe and Klingberg can fire the puck, and with Klingberg in the fold, it also gives the Leafs some different options on the power play.
The biggest changes, however, are all coming up front. The Leafs are coming into this season with the likes of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi and Ryan Reaves over Michael Bunting, Denis Malgin and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. There's no question that all 3 are significant upgrades, with what they're able to offer and they all make the Leafs much harder to play against.
On top of all of the additions so far this summer, we also have to factor in a full year of rookie sensation Matthew Knies, who impressed during his 3-game test run at the end of the season and throughout the playoffs. There's also a healthy Nick Robertson to consider as well, though he may begin the 2023-24 season in the AHL after missing most of last season with a shoulder injury, which required surgery.
Time will tell just how much better this Leafs team will be at the start of the season, but when you compare this year's team to last year's, on paper, this year's team appears to be far superior. Again - there is plenty of time for things to change between now and October, but for the time being, you'll have a tough time convincing me that the Leafs aren't coming into 2023-24 better than they began last season.
| POLL | ||
9 JUILLET | 429 ANSWERS Comparing this current Leafs group to the one from opening night one year ago Do you believe that this year's Leafs team is better than the one that the team opened with last October? | ||
| Yes | 323 | 75.3 % |
| No | 51 | 11.9 % |
| They're about the same | 55 | 12.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
