How Close Are the Toronto Maple Leafs to Their Next Stanley Cup?

It may seem crazy, but to say the Maple Leafs are not that far from another Stanley Cup isn’t that unrealistic. There are many reasons this is true—if you don’t believe me now, read on!

First of all, I would like to look at the depth the Leafs have on defense. Some people say that, “Oh, it doesn’t matter if they have all those guys, they can only use six of ‘em anyway.” Well, even though this is true, the fact that teams suffer injuries during the season is undeniable. Having players you can rely on to back them up is always helpful.

Now, as we look at individual defensemen for the “Buds,” names like Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, and Jeff Finger (and his $3.5 million contract) come to mind. But what about the addition of Mike van Ryan, Jonas Frogen, Anton Stralman‚—and, of course, Luke “Lockdown” Schenn.

Schenn is without a doubt the best defenseman they have (runner-up: the former Champ, Tomas Kaberle). As Ron Wilson said, “He is definitely one of our top-four defensemen”. By “top four,” I am assuming he means top one. All in all, the Leafs' defense looks to be among the strongest in the league.

Behind this outstanding blue-line, when you clear away the smoke, lies the very backbone of any team—their goaltender, Vesa Toskala. If it was up to me, I would rank Vesy among the top ten goalies in the league, possibly top five. Whenever someone slips past the defense and breaks in on goal, he seems to come up with the big save that causes the opposing player to say, “How the hell did he stop that one?”

In a very recent game, Toskala slid across the crease on a cross-ice, behind-the-net pass, and stacked the pads. This made me jump out of my chair (or throne, as I call it) and say, “Holy f#*kin' s**t!!” so much so that I had to stay up and walk around for a minute before I could sit down.

Behind Toskala, there is a guy who is there when Vesa needs a rest from all the hard work he does. That man is Curtis Joseph—"CuJo," for you Toronto faithful that have watched the Leafs for years now—the veteran with a gold medal under his belt, along with several playoff appearances. He is totally capable of holding down the fort while “The King” takes a rest.

In addition to this outstanding defensive corps, the Maple Leafs have a strong offence to boot. The former young guns Antropov and Ponikarovsky have grown older, and now have experience and more talent than fans thought they were capable of a mere two seasons ago. So far in eight games this year they have a total combined point total of thirteen (Sundin’s jersey number).

The Leafs have also supplimented these now-aged, not-so-young guns with new ones such as Nik Kulemin, Alex Steen, and Jiri Tlusty (who was recently sent down to the AHL).

As you can see, one look at the Leafs' roster and it becomes clear that they have the tools to be champs. Maybe someday, not now, not this season—but somewhere in the near future, the Blue and White will hoist Lord Stanley’s Mug!