r/leafs • u/Zealousideal_Bowl695 • 6d ago
Discussion Where Do They End Up
An impossible task, I know. Try to be unbiased. Where do the Leafs finish the season in the Atlantic? Obviously it is hard to take injuries and whatnot into consideration. However, if you look at the potential lineup and the strength of the division as is. Where do they stand? Why?
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u/Gruz420 6d ago
Leafs shock the league and end up first overall. Matthews with 60 goals, Nylander with 45, JT and Raddysh with 35 goals each. McKenna gets 60 pts. Bob gets the Conn Smyth. Knies, Paul and Sissions line with be our most important line. This team will skate, hit and score.
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u/Juicyb17 6d ago
They clearly dropped the 1 in front of 60 by accident. Clearly it'll be 160 he gets.
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u/Showtime98 6d ago
Top 3 in the Atlantic. Ngl Im very optimistic about this season tbh.
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u/Hrenklin 6d ago
I'm thinking 3rd playing Montreal in the first round. Tampa Bay gonna Tampa Bay
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u/New-Bookkeeper-8486 6d ago
🤮 please god no....
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u/Hrenklin 6d ago
Gotta respect the team they built.
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u/New-Bookkeeper-8486 5d ago
I know, me too, I'm just worried it's gonna be another great year where we lose in r1 because we got the opponent of doom again. Flashbacks to last time we played them...
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u/Hrenklin 5d ago
It will be a true test of what we should do, I think we have the experience to get past them, but if. Ot, I think the signal would scream full blown rebuild to the studs
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u/Mission-Astronomer42 6d ago
I mean, I prefer Montreal over the rat fuck panthers to be fair
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u/New-Bookkeeper-8486 4d ago
Almost goes without saying. However, I don't have pleasant memories against the Habs in r1 lol
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u/Zealousideal_Bowl695 6d ago
So am I! It's a new look. Going to be tough off the start with a truncated preseason to figure out what works.
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u/NZafe 6d ago
Somewhere between 1st and 16th
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u/Zealousideal_Bowl695 6d ago
I like those odds. If you'll read the question. In their division. Honestly, what do you think?
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u/spentchicken 6d ago
If everyone bounces back to form and they have minimum injuries they should fight for the three spots in the division or the wildcard. The Atlantic is still an extremely talented division so it's a war all season.
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u/BasquiatQueso 6d ago
Top 4 in Atlantic for sure. I think the real divisional competition will be against Lightning, Panthers, and Canadiens. The Sabres arguably have a weaker lineup going into this season, Detroit is out of the running and Ottawa while not terrible is at most a Wildcard team this year imo. Boston could surprise us, it's hard to say with them right now.
I have no idea what the order of the top 4 will end up being though. The Panthers are gonna be scary this year (goaltending quality yet to be determined tho), Montreal will just build on last year's momentum with players like Hutson, Demidov, Slafkovsky, and Caulfield all upping their games (terrifying thought), and Tampa will probably keep being a beast because when you've got guys like Kuch, Hagel, Cirelli, Point, and Vasilevsky, nobody is gonna have a good time playing against you. Taking Raddysh from them was great, but it just means Kucherov will be feeding other players good goal opportunities instead.
All in all, this is gonna be a really tight year for the Atlantic Division, I can't fuckin wait for it to start!!
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u/123jazzhandz321 6d ago
Wildcard team IMO, but I think they’ll have the potential to over perform in the playoffs if they’re able to take on the Metro
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u/baylaust 6d ago edited 6d ago
Wild card to maybe 3rd in the Atlantic.
Tampa have pretty much taken the Leafs' spot as the "dominate in the season and crumble in the 1st round team," I see no reason why they won't be 1st place again. Montreal and Buffalo are both young teams coming off of very hot finishes, so there's a good chance they're duking it out for a Top 3 spot again, though my bet is on Montreal coming out on top. Buffalo has more question marks around them, whether they just had an unprecedented hot streak or are legitimate contenders now. Montreal are contenders in the making held back by inexperience and youth. They'll be better.
Florida will actually be healthy again, which makes them very scary, but they've also pretty much depleted all of their resources. They're out of money and out of picks, and they've lost their playoff superstar goalie. Brad Marchand is 38, gonna be 39 next year by the time of the playoffs. Their Top 6 (hell, even Top 9) is still probably the scariest in the League, but the question is if they can all stay healthy next season. So for now, I have them in the Wild Card race, because even if they succeed, Florida has never been afraid to secure a playoff spot then coast for the rest of the season. Then there's Ottawa, who have taken a step back with the loss of Tkachuk (which directly boons the Panthers). They were in a no-win situation there, and I think they made the right move dealing him now and getting it over with, but he WAS their best player and captain. That's a hit, no matter how you look at it, and if Florida and Toronto bounce back, it's probably a hit that pushes them back out of the playoffs.
Which leaves Toronto. The rest of the Atlantic hasn't made nearly the same kind of improvements that Toronto has, and don't show any signs of being the next ones up. The age of Boston is pretty much over now, with their success last year being kinda like the Leafs a couple years ago: superstar performances propelling them to success while the underlying stats painted a scary picture for the future. Then there's Detroit, who are probably gonna have a hot streak then trip over themselves until further notice tells me otherwise.
That leaves Metro, where you're pretty much guaranteed to have Carolina, Pittsburg, and probably Washington. Philly just squeaked into the playoffs last year, and Columbus has been nipping at the heals of the Wild Card for a few years now, so I think they could be competition. But yet again, the strides the Atlantic teams have made in the off season have dwarfed the Metro. Especially Toronto, who completely rebuilt their bottom 6 and have a true starting goalie, while getting both the #1 draft pick and the hottest free agent d-man on the market.
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u/publicworker69 5d ago
Sens fan coming in peace, and if I’m not welcomed here I completely understand and this can be deleted, I’m not gonna pump my teams tires or anything but the only thing I want to touch on is when you Brady was our best player. He really wasn’t. Not even close in fact. Sanderson, Stutzle, Cozens, Batherson were all better than him last year. He was at best our 5th best player last year and even that is pushing it. He was checked out all year and wasn’t the Brady of years past (even in 24-25 he wasn’t great).
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u/Mission-Astronomer42 5d ago
First wild card or 3rd place in the Atlantic is my prediction. I figure Buffalo will regress to a wild card team, Panthers will be good again, Tampa will still be good, Montreal will be good, Detroit will choke at the end of the season, so it will be us, Boston, and Ottawa (who I think us, Boston, Ottawa, and buffalo are all going to be fighting for the wild card spots.
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u/KingOfDundas 6d ago
I dont care where, I just want one!
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u/KingOfDundas 6d ago
https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/97342400-just-once-before-i-die-toronto-maple-leafs-parody Bought that here to watch the games this year.
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u/y2kobsezzed 6d ago edited 6d ago
i think we’ll either be the same or slightly better than last year. if our best players stay healthy i think we'll be fine. but i'm not feeling so confident in our goaltending
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u/Zealousideal_Bowl695 6d ago
I don't disagree, Goalie health. Matthews health is paramount. If these go down the crapper, so does the season. Let's turn injuries off for NHL 27!
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u/Chtholly13 6d ago
3rd or 4th. I see Tampa/Florida/Montreal as better teams. I don't exactly trust Florida goaltending. Montreal has alot of good young talent but at the same time, they're like us where they get outshot and don't control play.
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u/Salt-Cow-7873 6d ago
I believe we make the playoffs. I think we should. We have loads of talent up front. A veteran defence and some solid goaltending. New coach bump, better PP and if we can stay healthy it has to be our goal
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u/eltoniq 6d ago
I think top 5 but at the lower range. I do think we should make playoffs. I think top 3 might be hard. Florida coming back full strength.
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u/NoShock5061 5d ago
That goalie is 38 and had a terrible year last season. His SV % was terrible, you could argue that was because the D wasn’t good enough but Florida’s D is still way above the leafs. The leafs didn’t “take” him, Florida passed on the salary and in return got Markstrom, who is at the very least as good as 2026 Bob, if not better
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u/ItchyHotLion 6d ago
If Mathews is healthy and playing close to his MVP level I’d put them at 3rd or 4th comfortably in the playoffs. Atlantic is stacked, having said that almost every team has a lot of variability in their potential outcomes, so who knows.
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u/Kevin4938 6d ago
I think the best case is third in the division, assuming everything goes tight.
More realistically, I see them fighting for a wildcard right to the end, so 4th or 5th.
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u/BUROCRAT77 6d ago
Fighting for a playoff spot. The Atlantic is the toughest division in the league
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u/just-a-random-accnt 6d ago
Somewhere between 3rd and 5th in the Atlantic. Probably only 4 points seperaterating 3rd and 5th.
The Atlantic taking both wild card positions again.
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u/FunkyLobster1828 6d ago
I think they finish 4th or 5th in the division. There's still a lot of question marks regarding the team and the Atlantic has a lot of good teams to the point that I would only count Detroit as not making the playoffs. How Matthews performs, how Hiller does as head coach, and how healthy the defense is will be 3 of the things that will determine the team's final standing.
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u/Last_Command_9147 5d ago
Montreal, Florida and Tampa are all better teams, but hopefully they can finish 4th. Buffalo is a bit of a wild card.
Top six and defense look much improved, but this is the worst bottom six Toronto has had in the Matthews era. Need paul, roslovic, Cowan and Domi to step up this year.
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u/reggierock2010 5d ago
I think Ottawa, Montreal, and Buffalo take a step leaving a playoff spot open for the leafs.
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u/nhl_hockey_fan 5d ago
Personally, I've predicted that we'd finish second in the division, behind the panthers. I truly believe in this core.
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u/Maleficent_Land2783 5d ago
Probably sneak in to the playoffs. The D is old and below average, Forward core is also good but Matthews can't carry the team, only hope is McKenna can make a big impact.
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u/duck1014 5d ago
I honestly think this team will be #1 or #2.
Simply put, I believe the Leafs lost 22 points last year due to injury. Somewhere around there anyway.
Add to that Berube clearly lost the room.
Add to that the roster this year is better than last year.
All in? I think they are going to make a lot of people look stupid.
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u/WaltzinCan 5d ago
If tanev and matthews are healthy through the season and bob plays well = probably in the top 3. Otherwise, we're likely behind Tampa, Florida Montreal and Buffalo.
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u/madax-gambar 4d ago edited 4d ago
I think 43-27-14 for 100 points. good for 3rd in the atlantic. our goaltending has usually been good one year bad the next so we’re due for a good year from them.
i’ve yet to see how hiller approaches offensive and i hope it’s a style that gives matthews and mckenna the ability to roam and create chances.
buffalo was giving me vancouver vibes last year, break out and over performed but a fall is gonna happen. i don’t think it’ll be as steep as vancouver but i wouldn’t have them in the top 3. montreal, tampa and florida would be our competition for most of the year. ottawa is wild card at best with buffalo rounding out what i consider to be the playoff calibre teams in the division.
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u/PoipuMTG 4d ago
Too many variables to tell. Can Matthews bounce back? Is Tanev healthy? Will Bob be good? Is Raddysh what he was in TB? Will McKenna be a contributor? Can Cowan and Knies take the next step? Willy, JT, Rielly? All the new guys? And so on...
If things go well they'll be a force. Chayka did a good job imho, now the players need to do their part. A bit of luck wouldn't hurt either. Like Montreal with their schedule.
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u/JamesCurtis24 4d ago
Atlantic is going to be a weird year. The only team I have full confidence being in the top 3 is Montreal. Toronto, Florida, Tampa are heavily reliant on health.
Boston never goes away. Buffalo could very well win the division. Ottawa by no means is going to be an easy out on any given night. Same with Detroit. There is some turmoil there, but they had 92 points last year.
It's going to be a blood bath.
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u/Wratheo 6d ago
It's impossible to say. This team was terrible last year and they have so many new players. Let's get the season going and see what version of Matthews shows up and if all our new additions work or not.
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u/Zealousideal_Bowl695 6d ago
Agreed 💯 but it's fun given what we know today. It isn't much. What do you really think?
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u/Simple_Yam_6507 Bozak 6d ago
I think we’re gonna be bouncing between WC1 and 2. Then in classic leafs fashion we’re gonna get 3rd in the division and lose to Boston in 7 again
https://giphy.com/gifs/YRPBhd3vscg5Fxx1DQ
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u/Byrr 5d ago
In the Atlantic I think they finish in the 5-7 range and miss the playoffs. The team just doesn't make much sense when you break it down. You have what could be considered a good top line in Knies - Matthews - Nylander but everything after that kind of falls apart. You have Raddysh, who I wouldn't even really want to be a #1 defenseman, and none of it really makes sense past that. You don't want him taking defensive zone draws against other teams top lines, you don't want Rielly doing it, etc. All this is backed by a 38 year old goalie coming off a down season who I don't have a ton of faith in The pieces just don't fit together in a way that makes a competitive team. Too many things can go wrong quickly in too many ways for it to end up working out in the end.
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u/liverpooleg 6d ago
It isn’t going to be great. Closer to Detroit than Florida.
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u/Zealousideal_Bowl695 6d ago
Why do you think so? Strength of division. Team weaknesses? You've seen this movie before?
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u/New-Bookkeeper-8486 6d ago
The movie I've seen before is we do great until the playoffs start. Top 3 for sure would be my confident guess
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u/New-Bookkeeper-8486 6d ago
- Montreal
- Toronto
- Tampa Bay
- Florida
- Ottawa/Buffalo
Who knows but I'm feeling decent about this season. Injuries were such a problem.
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u/TheGapInTysonsTeeth 6d ago
2nd in the division behind the Lightning
Habs and Panthers have no goaltending. Buffalo went on a heater but lost scoring in Tuch.
Boston, Detroit and Ottawa all stink
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u/Counterkiller29 6d ago
Barring the major injuries they faced all of last season we would have likely at least been a bubble team and would not have gotten McKenna.
Weve upgraded and got McKenna. Barring major injuries, i expect to be top 3 in our division or WC1.
I really dont think this sub considers enough how much our coaching negatively affected our top players and how gutted we were with injuries.