Popular analyst and sports personality makes a bold prediction about the Leafs heading into 2022-23
Theories on how the new-look Leafs will fair in 2022-23 are all over the map, with some believing the Leafs will crash and burn in goal with the additions of Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov, while others believe that the Leafs made some sneaky-good additions this summer that could make them a lot tougher to play against.
For NHL on TNT analyst Paul "Biz Nasty" Bissonnette (also of Spittin' Chiclets fame), he made his stance on the Leafs for the next two seasons known on Twitter on Wednesday. Biz believes that the Leafs are going back-to-back, just like the 2019-20 and 2020-21 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Leafs have not even completed their offseason tinkering yet and are still needing to move a body or two out to sign Rasmus Sandin and potentially address a need within the top 6. It's a pretty bold statement from Biz, there's no question about that.
Realistically, the Leafs are running back the same core that finished 4th in the NHL last season and took the Tampa Bay Lightning all the way to the wire in Game 7 of their first round matchup against the former Champs. It's not as though the Leafs were outclassed in that series, so a bounce here and one less penalty call there and we might have just seen the Leafs and Avs in the Finals this season, so maybe Biz isn't so crazy.
The goaltending cannot be any worse than it was last year for the Buds, and they have added two goalies this summer who are coming in motivated to prove everyone wrong - and one of them is a 25-year-old who Olaf Kolzig called "the next Andrei Vasilevskiy" at one point, so anything is possible.
In addition, the signings of Nicholas Aube-Kubel, Calle Jarnkrok and Adam Gaudette give the Leafs nabbed 3 players who are hard on the forecheck, who play defensively responsible hockey and who bring a nice mix of speed, secondary scoring and, in Aube-Kubel's case, a high level of physicality. They can also each play multiple positions, which makes for some added versatility.
Beyond that, the Leafs are also looking at some potential changes on the blue line, with 8 NHL defensemen currently on the roster, with Sandin making 9 when he signs. I think there's still at least one bigger move yet to come in Toronto.
Biz sees potential in this team, and as influential as he is, hopefully this opens up some peoples' eyes to the fact that this Leafs team isn't just a paper tiger. They're not the same team they were a few seasons back. This team is a legit contender - and one who Biz thinks can get the job done more than once.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 21 | 751 ANSWERS Popular analyst and sports personality makes a bold prediction about the Leafs heading into 2022-23 Do you agree with Biz about the Leafs having what it takes to win multiple Cups with this core? | ||
| This team has what it takes to get it done | 260 | 34.6 % |
| I'm not holding my breath | 304 | 40.5 % |
| They'll win sooner than later, but maybe not 2 | 187 | 24.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
