Toronto Maple Leafs Need More Work If They Plan on Making Playoff Dreams Real

A team is only as strong as its weakest link. In the case of the Toronto Maple Leafs that link is not only weak; it’s almost nonexistent, leaving our proverbial chain to fall to pieces. As a diehard, blue and white bleeding Torontonian, I would like nothing more than to see our newly crowned captain hoist the Stanley for the first time in almost half a century. As it stands right now this is nothing more than incredibly wishful thinking.

When I look at the Toronto Maple Leafs I see a lot of things going well for them. They boast one of the strongest, if not the strongest, blue lines in the league with enough depth to drown out even the greatest of opposing franchise players. As things stand right now our top 6 defenseman are some of the most experienced. With the likes of Phaneuf, Komisarek, Beauchemin, Schenn and not to forget the controversial Kaberle, we have enough guys on our back end to make any opponent tremble but this also leaves us with a few other defensemen to move around as bargaining chips in hopes of landing some more coveted players up front.

Through more careful examination I see a goaltending situation that can only go up from where it’s currently at. Our net minders combine both old experience and young talent. Giguere, in his last season, has got a lot to prove if he wants to get his coveted contract extension and not only that, but he needs to both mentor and compete against the up and coming sophomore, Jonas Gustavsson. The Monster on the other hand is fighting for the top spot between the pipes and if things shape up the way they ended last season he will end up splitting the time evenly in goal with Giguere, something neither of them wants to do as each is hoping that this will be his season to shine.

Looking at our defensemen and goaltending situations, there isn’t a single other thing that I could have asked from Brian Burke, he truly delivered when it came to our defensive positions.

If the chain I mentioned earlier was only about the Leafs defense then it would be sturdier than one could imagine. It would be the kind of chain that you’d use to tie up your bike in a bad neighborhood or make sure death row inmates don’t get away. Unfortunately for Leafs Nation, we have our forwards to worry about.

 Where Brian Burke could have done a little better is our offense which was horrendous last season, and I hate to admit it, may still be less than stellar this time around. For a man who transformed the Canucks as well as the Ducks in a few short seasons, I expected a little more from him in the way of taking the Leafs and returning them to their past glory.

One thing I can’t help but notice when I look to our forwards is how young they all are. I know that as of late Leafs management has advocated for a younger grittier team, but I feel they overlook the fact that these young guys, while eager to shine, will not fare so well against the experienced players they will face night in and night out. If you take a look at our first line, there’s an incredibly high likelihood that our starting center will be Tyler Bozak. While I highly respect him as a player I don’t believe he has what it takes to anchor a team in only his sophomore season. If the Leafs want to have the same conference standings positions as the Penguins or the Sharks, they will need to have players that can play at that level. In my opinion, if Bozak played in San Jose, he would be lucky if he was a third line center.

Furthermore, God only knows how the sophomore slump will hit Tyler and when it does, the Leafs as a unit will suffer the consequences. Best case scenario, the team will shift Nazim Kadri up to fill in for Bozak and then our starting center will be a kid no older than I (I’m 18) who only a season ago was deemed too skinny to play with the big boys.

I won’t even get into the fact that we currently have no real top 6 forward on the left side. Some will tell you that this is what Clarke Macarthur was picked up for but in my opinion this would be a mistake to stop searching for a left winger and settle for him. Between Macarthur and Bozak, our frontline will greatly depend on Kessel who will have trouble finding the net if his support staff is simply those two.

While I’m not the GM for the Leafs, I do have my opinions on the matter. Brian Burke if for some reason you accidentally stumbled on this article, I’d like you to heed my advice: The Bruins are currently shopping around for some good defensemen and their bargaining chip is Marc Savard. This is almost a perfect scenario for us and them. Savard is an experienced Left Winger who will fit in perfectly on the Leafs’ top line. Macarthur will be best placed next to Kadri on the second line and our Maple Leafs chain will no longer be at risk of falling to pieces.

My name is David Bassily, I’m an 18 year old leafs fan born and raised in Toronto and living in California. This is my first article on Bleacher Report, I’d like to hear what you all have to say and I will take all of your opinions into consideration for my next piece.