The Maple Leafs’ current roster might be closer to winning a Stanley Cup than many believe, and the Tampa Bay Lightning may provide evidence to support that.
Since the “Core 4” of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares was assembled in 2018, the Maple Leafs have experienced minimal playoff success, with just one playoff win to their name. Despite numerous analyses critiquing the current roster construction and the performance of key players in crucial games, a statistic about the Tampa Bay Lightning suggests that the Maple Leafs might be closer to a Cup than one might think.
According to @DI0Rdano on X:
”Imo, this speaks to the importance of depth/goaltending to winning in the playoffs.
The most successful dynasty in recent years maintained a winning record in spite of no production from their core players in their most important games.”
The Lightning’s Core 4 struggled in Game 7s of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but still achieved remarkable success, including back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021.
This indicates that the Maple Leafs’ current roster could conceivably remain intact and still be a Cup-winning team.
The pressing question is whether the Leafs’ depth and goaltending can elevate the team to contender status. This remains uncertain as the Maple Leafs introduce a new goaltending duo in Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz, along with several uncertainties in the bottom six, due to rookies like Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten pushing for roster spots.
Only time will tell if the current roster will be good enough to carry the team further in the playoffs. However, with the Lightning’s top players performing mostly below where the Leafs’ top players have performed in Game 7’s, it’s entirely possible, even if it seems unlikely.
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