Florida Panthers: A View Inside the Enemy – Toronto Maple Leafs

In part two of ‘a view inside the enemy,’ I take a closer look at the Florida Panthers’ second rival and break down their roster. Today’s enemy… the Toronto Maple Leafs!

The Toronto Maple Leafs have never really been considered a ‘rival’ to our Florida Panthers, but with four meetings being played between the two sides this season, as well as being in the same division, those encounters will not only feel like a rivalry but more like a battle!

As we all know, the Maple Leafs were crowned champions of this summer’s free agency. They managed to snatch up the most prized possession on the open market: John Tavares. With that signing now in the past, the Leafs now own one of the deepest forward groups in all of hockey.

Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Nazem Kadri, Patrick Marleau, and now John Tavares are just a few names that come to mind when you think of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Scary, right? But that’s not all they have up front!

Depth pieces like Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, Tyler Ennis, and Kasperi Kapanen are all guys who can also put the puck in the net. The Leafs possess a forward group that’s built from speed and skill and one that is trained to burn you in transition.

Their defense, however, lies their biggest concern. Currently thin at the back, the Leafs don’t have a lot of options to turn to, which could be problematic this season.

Morgan Rielly, who is without a doubt their most reliable defenseman, remains their best piece on the blue line going forward. He’s essentially their quarterback managing the defensive zone.

Jake Gardiner comes in at No. 2 and most know what he’s all about. Gardiner’s skating ability is as smooth as butter, which compliments his puck moving ability. However, he’s also notorious for his giveaways in both the neutral and defensive zone, which we saw a lot of in game #7 from last postseason’s first-round series against the Boston Bruins.

Nikita Zaitsev slots in at No. 3 and while he had a disappointing campaign last year, he’s still a decent piece for the Maple Leafs. Connor Carrick and Ron Hainsey come in at No. 4 and 5 respectively, and while they aren’t top-four pairs by any stretch of the imagination, the two will have to take on larger roles, even if the role exceeds their own limitations.

The No. 6 option is still unclear and could go to either one of Andreas Borgman or Travis Dermott. That decision will likely be determined in the final few weeks of September leading up to the season.

So, as you can see, the Leafs have some concerns on their blue line that need addressing, which will be an area that teams like the Panthers can exploit them on.

Their goaltending, on the other hand, is a different story. Owning a sufficient one-two punch of Frederik Andersen and Curtis McElhinney in between the pipes, the Leafs are guarded by two fairly good netminders.

The obvious starter remains Frederik Andersen through thick and thin, and Panther fans know very well that the Danish netminder holds the ability to steal games on his own.

A perfect example comes from the 1-0 defeat the Cats suffered to the Maple Leafs back on February 20, 2018, where the Panthers peppered Andersen with 40 shots, yet failed to find the back of the net once.

Curtis McElhinney, who’s the Leafs’ backup goaltender, has proven that he’s more than capable of filling in as Andersen’s understudy. Last season, in 18 games played (15 started), McElhinney posted a record of 11-5-1 to go along with a GAA of 2.15 and a SV% of .934.

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If Andersen remains healthy and plays as well as he did last season, the Leafs should have no problems in between goal for the upcoming year. As I mentioned earlier, it’s their defensive core that could potentially prevent them from going all the way.

The Panthers and the Leafs will face off four times this season with the first and third meeting being in Sunrise, Florida, while the second and fourth will be played in Toronto’s newly named venue, the Scotiabank Arena.

Some of you may wonder, “how on earth are we going to take on this explosive team?” While they may look awfully darn strong on paper, it’s important to remember that hockey is played on ice and not based on names coming from a sheet of paper.

The Leafs may possess one of the strongest forward cores throughout the entire NHL, but that doesn’t mean they’re impossible to beat.

As I stated earlier, you can hit them where it hurts most by exploiting their weak backline. That means forwards like Huberdeau, Barkov, Trocheck, and others will all have to push play and hit them hard off the counter-attack.

It also means that special teams are going to have to improve. The power play simply cannot be a shell of itself from last season, as that won’t cut it against the Maple Leafs’ penalty-killing unit.

Apart from exploiting their backline, the Panthers’ defensive core will also have to tighten up and closely mark the Leafs’ star forwards. Players like Matthews, Tavares, Marner, and others cannot be given the time of day to walk in and shoot. Allowing them to is just a recipe for disaster if anything.

Defensemen such as Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, and Michael Matheson will all have their hands full, but there isn’t any reason why they can’t keep those aforementioned players in check. Forwards will also have to pitch in and help on the defensive end, as well.

Aleksander Barkov and Vincent Trocheck will both be counted on to play two-way games against the Leafs during the season. Not that both don’t already but if there’s ever a need for this style of play during a particular game, it’s definitely going to have to come against a team like the Leafs.

There’s no reason why the Panthers can’t at least split the season series with the Leafs, potentially even stealing a third game to go 3-1.

Beating the Leafs is no easy task, I get that, but if the Panthers want to ensure a postseason spot in the upcoming year, hockey clubs like the Maple Leafs are teams you have to beat to book yourself a ticket for the Stanley Cup dance.

The Toronto Maple Leafs remain one of the deadliest teams across the NHL and hold the best odds of winning Lord Stanley this year. The pressure is clearly on them to show their worth and win on a consistent basis. For the Panthers, there isn’t any pressure as they’re viewed as the underdogs against a team like Toronto, which again, could work in their favor…