Toronto Maple Leafs identified as one of the most improved teams this off-season
Photo credit: Sergei Belski - USA Today Sports
After a flurry of moves on July 1st, the Toronto Maple Leafs were ranked within the top-10 of the most improved teams heading into the 2024-25 season.
With the salary cap having finally increased from it's stagnant stages post-COVID, NHL general managers spent money like their jobs depended on it. Over a billion dollars worth of contracts were handed out on the first day alone and with that came a bunch of teams who look ready to take the 2024-25 season head-on.
Between May and June, most of the NHL insiders were taking their guesses on what the Leafs were going to do this summer and most of them - if not all - believed Mitch Marner was going to the rule the off-season. What in fact ended up happening was Brad Treliving stood pat on his superstar winger, addressed his back-end, brought in a stable backup goaltender, and added to his pipeline.
Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic rated all 32 clubs and had the Maple Leafs ranked 8th on his list of the most improved teams after the off-season:
"It's looking more and more likely that the Leafs are running it back. Will this time be different? Maybe!
What helps make that decision feel like the best path forward is seeing where all of the league's top contenders lie � at the bottom of this list. Almost every contender from last season looks demonstrably worse going into 2024-25. The Leafs? They look better, and that closes the gap between them and the league's best considerably. The Leafs' 2024 offseason has put the team back on track after last season's questionable summer.
That stems entirely from the Leafs turning Joel Edmundson and Ilya Lyubushkin into Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Those are comparatively strong upgrades that give Toronto one of its best blue lines during this era. Adding Anthony Stolarz, who was stellar last season, to replace Ilya Samsonov looks like a great move too.
The Leafs could still use a top-six winger to replace Tyler Bertuzzi, but were right to prioritize the back end. It could be what finally pushes the team toward a deep playoff run. This is a much stronger defensive group."
What helps make that decision feel like the best path forward is seeing where all of the league's top contenders lie � at the bottom of this list. Almost every contender from last season looks demonstrably worse going into 2024-25. The Leafs? They look better, and that closes the gap between them and the league's best considerably. The Leafs' 2024 offseason has put the team back on track after last season's questionable summer.
That stems entirely from the Leafs turning Joel Edmundson and Ilya Lyubushkin into Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Those are comparatively strong upgrades that give Toronto one of its best blue lines during this era. Adding Anthony Stolarz, who was stellar last season, to replace Ilya Samsonov looks like a great move too.
The Leafs could still use a top-six winger to replace Tyler Bertuzzi, but were right to prioritize the back end. It could be what finally pushes the team toward a deep playoff run. This is a much stronger defensive group."
They replaced Tyler Bertuzzi, Joel Edmundson, Ilya Lyubushkin, T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano, and Ilya Samsonov with Chris Tanev, Oliver-Ekman Larsson, Jani Hakanpaa, and Anthony Stolarz while also extending Max Domi and Timothy Liljegren to contract extensions.
Defensively, name for name and player for player, they definitely improved especially with the addition of the always consistent Tanev over Lyubushkin. When it comes to their goaltending, Stolarz has the makings of a very capable 1B to Joseph Woll but only time will tell if he can handle the pressures of a city like Toronto.
Offensively they left a lot to be desired but they still walk into the new season with their potent Core 4 intact and the ever-present possibility of adding an Easton Cowan or a Fraser Minten into the mix.
While it seems like they're running it back with thr Core 4 for the 7th season in a row, the Maple Leafs look better than their 2023-24 counterparts, the very same team that lost to the Boston Bruins in the first round for the umpteenth time.
Source for The Athletic's article:
Which NHL teams have improved the most this offseason? Rating all 32 teams
Which NHL teams have improved the most this offseason? Rating all 32 teams
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 11 | 381 ANSWERS Toronto Maple Leafs identified as one of the most improved teams this off-season Do you agree with Dom's take on the Maple Leafs' off-season? | ||
| Yes, they improved vastly from last year | 161 | 42.3 % |
| No, the core should not remain intact again | 57 | 15 % |
| They're better, but not THAT much better | 163 | 42.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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