Another First Round Exit

 

So, here we are again with a chance to see the Leafs go to the second round of the postseason for the first time in seventeen years and yet again Toronto does not get it done. I received a few texts from friends asking me what is next for this team. I can honestly say I have no idea where this Leafs team goes next Kyle Dubas built a great team in my opinion. For years we fans have said the team needed to improve defensively and this year’s team were very strong on defense there were so many times Toronto played a close one goal game this season and they managed to shut the opponent down whereas in years prior Toronto would usually collapse. I am not going to go through each goal scored or each period or each goal we all watched the game last night we all know what happened and how the game ended last night. Simply put Carey Price was incredible during the series from game 5 on he posted a save percentage of 952 he was a huge difference in this series no doubt. Toronto’s biggest issue was their first line manage a grand total of 2 goals Auston Matthews in game 2 and Zach Hyman in game 5, those were the only goals from the top line in this series. I spoke to a family friend who has coached hockey for several years and told him when your bottom 6 forwards make more of an impact sadly these are the results you get. If you look Jason Spezza who absolutely played a great series should not be second in team scoring. Now I love Spezza as a player, always have and am happy he is a Maple Leaf but when you have Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews score only one goal between them in seven games a first-round exit is the correct result. Your best players need to consistently be your best players when it matters. These two collected a massive number of points together throughout the regular season but when they were needed the most, they were unable to break through.

After last night’s game Coach Keefe said he did not speak to the team after the loss because they were understandably emotional after the result because the group honestly felt they were good enough to go on a deep run in this postseason. Proof of how emotional the team was after last night’s season ending loss was evident in players like Jack Campbell and Auston Matthews. Campbell after the game said the first goal by Gallagher last night was the worst goal in his career. I understand in the heat of the moment to respond like that, but I am sure that after a few days of processing this result Jack Campbell will look back at his performance as a whole and will take many positives away from the season and series. Auston Matthews could hardly speak in his media appearance. Its obvious he was frustrated with his performance but results like this are still part of the growing process of this team. Toronto still needs to learn how to win in the post season and there are other teams that went through a similar process before reaching the top of the mountain. Washington had a decade of early playoff exits before finally winning the top prize in the league. Then you can look at the years of Stamkos with Tampa Bay they had many years where they looked to be easily a cup winning team, but they would fall short in conference finals or in the final itself, we also cannot forget the year everyone myself included picked Tampa to win the cup only to be swept in four games by the Columbus Blue Jackets. My long-winded point in all of this is I know right now fans are frustrated and the wound is still fresh, but patience is needed this Leaf team is still heading in the right direction and I know things are tough now, but this fan base will have their moment of celebrating a championship sooner then most may think.

 

So, now that the season has come to an end the focus will now turn to the offseason as on July 1^st Toronto will have a total of eleven free agents to either bring back or walk away from. The biggest free agent will be Zach Hyman. You have to believe he will be returning but at what cost. I think it is safe to say Jason Spezza will get another 1 year offer to return but Joe Thornton is up in the air to me. Sure, Thornton started well in Toronto but as the season went on, I felt his play decreased and his lack of speed was an issue. If the Leafs bring back Galchenyuk at a low price that would be a welcomed piece to this roster he would mange to collect 12 points in the 24 games, he played as a Maple Leaf.

You then have to look at the blue line Zach Bogosian is in need of a new deal, and he actually played fairly well as a shutdown defenseman and was at a bargain of a deal only getting 1 million to play. Toronto has to decide what they will do with RFA Travis Dermott because one very important detail in all of this is Seattle and the expansion draft coming up teams can only protect a limited number of players and if you look at every mock draft that has been published every one of them have Seattle selecting Dermott. So, time will tell what happens with him. Ben Hutton who was a trade deadline is also in need of a deal, so he is another possibility to return on a short-term cheap deal.

Finally in goal I think it is safe to say Toronto’s new number one goalie is Jack Campbell. When Freddie Andersen went down with an injury Jack was able to step into the role and he was great showing management that he is capable of being a starting goalie in the National Hockey League and for Toronto he will only make 1.65 million dollars which will give Toronto some cap relief because in my opinion Freddie Andersen does not return to the Leafs freeing up 5.5 million for Toronto.

With the season now over, I want to explain what is next for this blog. I am going to take a little break from writing probably just for a few days but of course when the expansion draft takes place, I will likely talk about the Leaf player Seattle takes and when the entry draft arrives, I will do my best to write about their selections. Of course, if any trades happen, I will cover those and finally July 1 when free agency opens, I will write an article about the signings.

 

Finally, I am going to have some fun with this blog for those who do not know I have many friends who play hockey professionally in North America or throughout the world and I have an interview lined up with Julian Melchori who was at one time drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers but recently played for Wolfsburg in Germany. I am going to reach out to him and try and set up a date to conduct this interview.

 

In closing I want to thank everyone who has read this blog and supported it again this Leaf team will become the contender we all want them to be and myself and this blog will be there to cover the team every step of the way.