The reality of how far the Toronto Maple Leafs will be from returning to contention for a playoff spot is sobering, when you look at the teams at the top of the Eastern Conference and even those who will miss the playoffs.
It is expected that the Leafs will attempt to move veterans Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, Tyler Bozak and Dion Phaneuf in the offseason and rebuild around young prospects like William Nylander and whoever they select in the 2015 Draft, along with those in their mid-20’s or younger (James van Riemsdyk, Jake Gardiner, Nazem Kadri, Morgan Rielly and Jonathan Bernier) who will be in their prime when the club emerges in three or four years.
The current top six in the East all have one or a pair of star players under the age of 30 as centerpieces; Rick Nash(NYR), Carey Price/PK Subban(MTL), Steven Stamkos(TB), Alex Ovechkin/Niklas Backstrom(WAS), John Tavares(NYI) and Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin(PIT) with good-to-great supporting casts.
Boston and Detroit are not the contenders that they were a few years ago, due to injuries and the inevitable decline of cornerstones Zdeno Chara, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, but both clubs have promising youngsters (David Pastrnak, Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar) and enough depth to stay in the mix for the playoffs for the foreseeable future.
Ottawa, Florida, Columbus and Philadelphia are all trending upward with a solid nucleus of talent that may need one or two pieces or just to stay healthy to go to the next level.
Carolina had a woeful start but improved in the second half under rookie coach Bill Peters and has the Staal brothers, Justin Faulk and young forwards Jeff Skinner and Elias Lindholm to build around.
Even the woeful Buffalo Sabres have reason to be optimistic, as they will add either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel along with power forward Evander Kane to a promising young core that includes ’14 second overall pick Sam Reinhart, Ramsus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov.
The only team that would appear to have roster questions equal to Toronto is the New Jersey Devils, who have seven unrestricted free agents and an underwhelming core of Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique and aging veteran in Patrik Elias.
Based on where other teams are at in their development, the next few years appear to be pointing towards Toronto finishing near or at the bottom of the conference, which could be exactly what Team President Brendan Shanahan planned for all along.
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McEichel Race – Points(Games Played)
8. COLUMBUS 83(79), 7. PHILADELPHIA 82(79), 6. NEW JERSEY 77(79), 5. CAROLINA 69(79), 4. TORONTO 67(80), 3. EDMONTON 59(79), 2. ARIZONA 56(79), 1. BUFFALO 54(80)
Monday’s results: The Buffalo Sabres disappointed both their fans and those of the Leafs by winning 4-3 over Carolina at First Niagara Center, which used up one of the Hurricanes games in hand over Toronto.
The Leafs hold the tiebreaker on Carolina with more regulation wins(25) and if the two teams ended the season tied in points, Toronto would be awarded the lower pick.
Tuesday’s Games To Watch: Carolina at Detroit
Current Leafs odds at winning Draft Lottery(9.5%) Same
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With the Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, the Red Wings and possibly the Pittsburgh Penguins potentially interested in Detroit coach Mike Babcock, the chances of the Stanley Cup winning bench boss coming to Toronto are slim to none, but his decision to stay in the Motor City could have an effect on the Leafs pursuit of a new head coach.
Darren Dreger indicated TSN 1050 radio on Tuesday if Babcock stays with the Wings, that the Leafs may have interest in Grand Rapids Griffins coach Jeff Blashill.
The 42-year-old signed a three-year extension last June after winning a Calder Cup in 2013 and is considered the heir apparent if Babcock leaves for greener pastures, but if might avail himself for opportunities elsewhere if his way to the NHL is blocked.
Dreger indicated that coaching candidates that AHL head coaches and current NHL assistants may be in the mix and that names like former Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma who were available at the time of Randy Carlyle’s firing are not likely to be in the mix for the Toronto job since they were not chosen when the job originally opened up.
The purpose for promoting Peter Horachek to interim head coach was to delay a decision until the summer, when the number of options (which might include Babcock, San Jose coach Todd McLellan and Anaheim’s Bruce Boudreau) would increase.
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