Media outlet declares Leafs as Stanley Cup favourites in 2022-23
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in an odd spot. They've just set a new franchise record for points in a season with 115. Auston Matthews shattered the franchise goal scoring record and took home the Rocket and Hart Trophies and Ted Lindsay Award. Unfortunately, a 115-point season pitted them against the Tampa Bay Lightning in round 1 and the reigning back to back champs managed to eke out a victory in Game 7 (with some help from the referees). It was the Leafs 6th straight first round exit, and their 4th since Kyle Dubas took over as General Manager.
The Leafs are a good team - a very good one in fact. A look at their salary cap shows that they actually have a ton of flexibility moving forward, more than enough to keep their current core together, yet many fans want the team torn down for their lack of playoff success. We all know that once the march to the Stanley Cup begins, the game changes. The question is, can this Leafs team figure out how to win, or has the Shanaplan failed?
Editor in Leaf, a website that offers news and analysis on the Leafs, is infamous for the hot takes posted on their Twitter account with regularity. This time, they've decided that due to Florida, Tampa and Colorado losing important pieces of their lineups, the Leafs should be the early Stanley Cup favourites. On paper, they may just be right. The Leafs are a damn good team. Of course, their status as favourites hinges on Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov returning to form with their new team. It's a gamble, but one with at least half decent odds.
The problem with putting the Leafs at the top of the list is that they not only have shown that they haven't been able to go the distance, they haven't shown that they can even take the first step. The Leafs are contenders, no question about that, but until they show that they can close out a 7-game series, they can't truly be favourites.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 20 | 416 ANSWERS Media outlet declares Leafs as Stanley Cup favourites in 2022-23 Do you believe the Leafs are the favourites to win the 2022-23 Stanley Cup? | ||
| Yes | 142 | 34.1 % |
| No | 274 | 65.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
