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Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas has to be pondering and investigating what avenues he will pursue this summer in a number of different areas to find a pathway to improving his club’s chances of playoff success.
In spite of a record-breaking regular season, the Leafs had another early postseason exit. Toronto will likely explore the trade market and/or free agency to find upgrades, but that will depend on what they do with the players currently on their roster.
We look today at the Leafs status on the right side:
All the discontent that surrounded Mitch Marner after a literal no-show in the Leafs first-round loss to Montreal 13 months ago pretty much evaporated after the winger posted a career-high 35 goals, nearly reached the 100-point mark, and averaged over a point-per-game against Tampa Bay.
William Nylander on the other hand followed up an excellent showing last season against the Habs with a strong first half, but the talented forward resorted to his inconsistent ways in the second half, maintaining his offensive numbers but falling off defensively. Nylander continues to be the focal point of frustration for some of the Toronto fanbase, which was illustrated by his questionable effort in a Game 4 loss to the Lightning, and that inconsistency and another early exit could result in Nylander being traded this summer.
Can’t win games in the playoffs with that effort pic.twitter.com/BG3qzWCZJX
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) May 9, 2022
Ondrej Kase was an excellent addition on a one-year, $1.25 million deal, scoring 14 goals playing mostly third-line duty with David Kampf, but the 26-year-old spent three stints on the IR with the same concussion issues that cost him most of the previous season with Boston.
When Jason Spezza was not playing the right side on the fourth line, that duty fell upon veteran Wayne Simmonds, who provided a physical presence and took on all comers, but scored only one goal in 43 games after the Leafs returned from the COVID break. With Spezza retiring, Toronto must find other ways of generating scoring and energy from their bottom six and there are questions about whether the 33-year-old can still provide either.
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