3 Key Questions Facing the Maple Leafs for the 2022-23 Season

In this post, I’m going to lay out three key questions that face the Toronto Maple Leafs as they prepare for the 2022-23 regular season. First, a caveat here is that these are not the only questions the team needs to address prior to the season.

For example, we’re not even sure the roster that presents itself currently will be the same roster the team brings to the training camp. There’s a sense of quiet before a storm as if something is about to happen, but we’re not quite sure what that something is.

Specifically, will the team find a left-winger for the second line? The remainder of the top-six seems solid enough, but there’s a hole on the left wing on line two. How might that be addressed?

But, right now, the following three questions seem to be key to addressing the team’s needs.

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Key Question One: Can One of the Maple Leafs New Goalies Rise to the Occasion?

The Maple Leafs lost Jack Campbell; or, perhaps more to the point, were not willing to re-sign Campbell to the length of term or the high salary on his contract. They let him walk to the Edmonton Oilers. In Campbell’s place are two goalies who either had great success or were seen as having great potential. However, these goalies have struggled more recently.

Matt Murray had won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in their glory years. However, he recently struggled with the Ottawa Senators. The Maple Leafs hope he can regain his form if he has a solid defensive team in front of him. And the Maple Leafs are just that – a solid defensive team.

Ilya Samsonov was seen as an up-and-comer with the Washington Capitals. He had great potential and is a great athlete, but he was inconsistent. The Capitals surprised everyone by not qualifying him, and the Maple Lears swooped in. Can he regain his form?

If either of these goalies can have a rebound season, the Maple Leafs’ goaltending concerns might be over. However, is that a big if? The jury is out, but we’ll all know soon when the regular season starts.

Key Question Two: Is the Maple Leafs Defense Solid Enough to Carry the Team?

For several seasons before last season, the Maple Leafs’ defense was the team’s sore spot. Last season, that changed and the Maple Leafs had its best defense in seasons. As the team heads into the season, there are a number of things up in the air on this defense.

First, where will young Rasmus Sandin be? Will he re-sign? Will he hold out? He doesn’t have much leverage except withholding his playing time by not signing, but where does that put him in the long run? This issue remains to be settled.

Jake Muzzin was injured too often last season; and, although he returned and actually had a surprisingly strong postseason, who knows which Muzzin will show up when the season starts? Is he able to face the rigors of a tough season?

Strong aspects remain from the defense. TJ Brodie is solid, if not spectacular. Morgan Rielly is spectacular – at least on the offensive end. He’s also not too bad on defense either. Mark Giordano signed a great team-friendly contract to stay and play in Toronto, and Timothy Liljegren seems ready to establish himself as a first-rate defenseman.

Will all this come together for the team? If it does, then the defense in front of the goalie can work in tandem to create a system that helps keep the puck from the Maple Leafs’ net. That’s a key.

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Key Question Three: How Will the Team’s Fourth Line Come Together?

Last offseason, the Maple Leafs concentrated on building the shutdown third line that head coach Sheldon Keefe had wanted. It worked well. Centered by David Kampf and playing on the wings were Pierre Engvall and Ilya Mikheyev. Mikheyev has left, but Engvall remains and has been joined by defensive specialist Calle Jarnkrok. That line looks solid.

This season it seemed as if the project was to create a fourth line that had some punch and some pizazz to it. Nicolas Aube-Kubel brings tenacity. If Adam Gaudette can have a rebound season – he’s had stomach issues that seem to be under control now – they have a winger who’s more than adequate to carry the load.

The third winger on that line might come from a number of suspects – many potentially emerging from the organizational ranks of the Toronto Marlies. Can one of Joey Anderson or Bobby McMann, or others, jump to the pump?

I’d love to see a young crash-and-bang fourth line with some swagger that really makes it tough for the opposition. If that can happen and the fourth line can play with some attitude, what a huge difference it would make in the team’s success moving forward.

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