The theme of last year’s preview was ‘Dumpster fire or tire fire?’, thankfully this year we’re looking upwards, not downwards.
With half the opening night roster being turned over, going from trade bait to rookies, we’re looking at how much the Maple Leafs will improve over their tanking season last year.
The first question was ranking the Leafs in the division, conference, and the league:
| Name | Division | Conference | League |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Year |
8th | 16 | 30 |
| elseldo | 7 | 13 | 26 |
| Achariya | 5 | 10 | 19 |
| KatyaKnappe | 7 | 12 | 24 |
| AT Fulemin | 6 | 12 | 22 |
| Arvind | 6 | 10 | 20 |
| Gunnar Calrsson | 6 | 11 | 19 |
Moving onto team specifics our outlook for wins and goals put faith into the new Leafs:
| Name | Wins | Goals For |
Goals Against |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Year |
29 | 198 | 246 |
| elseldo | 37 | 215 | 230 |
| Achariya | 46 | 245 | 230 |
| KatyaKnappe | 40 | 235 | 235 |
| AT Fulemin | 39 | 235 | 240 |
| Arvind | 41 | 240 | 250 |
| Gunnar Calrsson | 42 | 242 | 233 |
Last year we took a look at who would be traded, and weren’t too far off from who was actually moved. This year there are some favourites; Roman Polak and Milan Michalek look to be on the move, and surprise Marlie Josh Leivo is also a popular one.
| Name | Who Gets Traded? |
|---|---|
| elseldo | Polak,Bozak, Greening, Corrado, Gauthier |
| Achariya | Polak, Corrado |
| KatyaKnappe | Greening, Holland, Loov, Sparks, Leivo |
| AT Fulemin | Polak, Greening, Michalek |
| Arvind | Michalek, Leivo |
| Gunnar Carlsson | Leivo, Polak, Michalek |
Next up we discussed what we thought would be the best outcome for the Maple Leafs this year. Yes, the Stanley Cup would be the best outcome, but let’s talk realistically.
elseldo: More wins, GF than last year, less GA. Games get less sloppy as the season goes on, by February they start picking up more wins than losses.
Achariya: Wild Card! (But maybe I'm optimistic.)
Katya: None of the wrong people on LTIR. No one 25 and under flames out. The goaltending is better than league average.
Acting the Fulemin: None of the core get injured; all of the core improve.
Arvind: Sneak into the playoffs off the back of strong performances from the rookies/core.
Gunnar Carlsson: They're in the playoff race until the end. No one gets a horrific injury.
Of course things could go the other way, these are the Maple Leafs after all. What are the worst case scenarios for the team this year?
elseldo: Marner, Nylander, Matthews all get injured, Andersen turns out to be the new Glen Healy, Kadri is traded for Lucic, Dubas leaves to become the new Columbus GM mid season
Achariya: Become the Sens. :(
Katya: Robidas Island has so many people on it, it becomes a member of the UN. The Leafs finish too high for Kristian Vesalainen, but they lose a lot as the systems fray out.
Acting the Fulemin: Everyone on the team abducted by aliens.
Arvind: Matthews pursues lifelong passion of watching paint dry, Nylander too busy looking at mirrors to focus on his game, Marner discovers pastries.
Gunnar Carlsson: Someone gets a horrific injury.
So these could all happen but what do we want from the team personally, as fans?
elseldo: PLAYOFFS! More realistically though I want them to beat the Habs every game, and generally improve overall as a team to make the damn playoffs next season
Achariya: Take the first round of playoffs to at least six games and learn a lot.
Katya: Same as all fans: everyone to have a positive Corsi Rel and the fourth line to score 20 goals each.
Acting the Fulemin: Playoffs; Rielly improves to 1st pair, Matthews/Nylander/Marner approach 1st line.
Arvind: Playoffs, Rielly learns how to play defense, Matthews/Nylander/Marner are bona fide first liners.
Gunnar Carlsson: Playoffs. Watching Matthews/Nylander/Marner every night.
What about those non-Leafs teams? They matter less but we all made out picks for them as well.
| Name | EC Winner | WC Winner | Cup Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Year | Pittsburgh Penguins |
San Jose Sharks |
Pittsburgh Penguins |
| elseldo | Pittsburgh Penguins |
Nashville Predators |
Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Achariya | Tampa Bay Lightning |
Nashville Predators |
Tampa Bay Lightning |
| KatyaKnappe | Washington Capitals |
St. Louis Blues |
Washington Capitals |
| AT Fulemin | Washington Capitals |
Nashville Predators |
Washington Capitals |
| Arvind | Washington Capitals |
Los Angeles Kings |
Washington Capitals |
| Gunnar Carlsson | Washington Capitals |
San Jose Sharks |
Washington Capitals |
Four out of six of our writers picked the Capitals to win the East and the cup. Other choices were the Lightning and the Penguins to repeat. The East winners were always the cup winner, but out west Nashville took three of the responses. I should note these votes were done before the EA Sports simulation was done.
And finally below are our choices for the individual awards:
| Name | Hart | Art Ross | Richard | Norris | Vezina | Selke | Calder | Adams | Best GM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last Year | P. Kane | P. Kane | Ovechkin | Doughty | Holtby | Kopitar | Panarin | Trotz | Rutherford |
| elseldo | Crosby | P. Kane | Tavares | Karlsson | Holtby | Bergeron | Matthews | Babcock | Lamoriello |
| Achariya | Subban | Benn | Stamkos | Hedman | Holtby | Bergeron | Matthews | Babcock | Yzerman |
| Katya | Holtby | Benn | Tavares | Weber | Quick | Bergeron | Bjorkstrand | Babcock | Polie |
| AT Fulemin | Crosby | Crosby | Ovechkin | Should be Karlsson but probably Doughty or some shit |
Holtby | Kopitar | Matthews | Tippett | Polie |
| Arvind | McDavid | McDavid | Ovechkin | Hedman | Holtby | Bergeron | Strome | McLellan | Polie |
| Gunnar Calrsson | Ovechkin | McDavid | Ovechkin | Karlsson | Price | Bergeron | Matthews | Babcock | Polie |
Everyone had different votes for Hart, and that will be a great race to watch. Also to note this poll was done before Crosby’s concussion announcement. Three awards were dominated by one player, Selke for Bergeron, Calder for Matthews, and Holtby for the Vezina. Babcock was a popular choice, and could he finally pick up the Jack Adams award?
There are our predictions, we’ll check back in mid-season to see who’s on pace to be the winner.
Argue down in the comments, tell me I’m too pessimistic. Are playoffs in your mind this year? Can Price come back to win the Vezina? Make your picks.
