After finishing with a league-low 69 points last season, the addition of goaltender Frederik Andersen, KHL defenseman Nikita Zaitsev and young prospects William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews is expected to make the Toronto Maple Leafs a much improved club.
That maybe the case, but it has not stopped preseason analysis from ranking Toronto near the bottom of the National Hockey League for the upcoming season.
USA Today’s Kevin Allen projects the Vancouver Canucks to be the worst team in the league with 65 points, but has the Leafs only six point ahead and at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with 71 points.
NHL point projections: How we see the 2016-17 season unfolding. https://t.co/oh4dfJu0OL pic.twitter.com/anlrjbTUug
— USA TODAY Sports (@USATODAYsports) October 4, 2016
SportsBettingDime.com gives Toronto and Arizona as the second worst odds of winning the Stanley Cup at 125 to 1, with only the Canucks a bigger long shot at 150 to 1.
The online gambling site Bodog has the Leafs ranked tied for 27th in the NHL with an over/under number of 81.5 points, tied with the Carolina Hurricanes and slightly ahead of Vancouver (79.5) and Arizona (77.5).
The expectations have skyrocketed for Matthews after dazzling at the World Cup of Hockey last month, who is the odds on favorite to win the Calder Trophy.
Both Bodog and SportsBettingDime rank the 19-year-old as an overwhelming favorite to win rookie of the year, with 2016 second overall pick Patrik Laine as his main competition.
2015 third overall pick Dylan Strome, Nylander, Columbus ’16 top pick Pierre-Luc Dubois, Rangers rookie Jimmy Vesey, Edmonton’s Jesse Puljujarvi and Philadelphia defenseman Ivan Provorov are dark horses or long shots, but neither provided odds for Marner. *******
The Leafs have reduced their roster to 48 players, as 2016 fourth rounder Adam Brooks has been demoted to the Toronto Marlies camp.
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GM Lou Lamoriello believes the Leafs have a top defensive prospect in 2015 second rounder Travis Dermott, who is still with the Leafs, but is a long shot to make the 23-man roster.
“I thought (Dermott) held himself extremely well (in an 8-1 victory over Buffalo last Friday), I though his confidence in the skills that he has was outstanding and he wants to be a player.… Lamoriello said on Hockey Prospect Radio with Shane Malloy and Russ Cohen. “He’s got an edge about him, he competes and I think that there is no (limit) to where this young man could go.…
Dermott played for Team Canada at the 2016 IIHF World Junior last December and completed his junior career scoring 43 points (6 goals, 37 assists) for the OHL’s Erie Otters last season.
The Newmarket, ON native along with fellow 2015 draftee Andrew Nielsen are thought to be future NHL blueliners, but some believe that Nielsen may have a quicker path to the Leafs because of his size.
Dermott at 5’11…, 207 lb is undersized by current standards, but Lamoriello believes smaller defensemen such as former New Jersey and Detroit blueliner Bryan Rafalski can make up for that with hockey IQ and core strength.
“I’ll take a medium-sized player that has hockey strength over a taller or bigger player that does not have hockey strength.… Lamoriello said. “(Rafalski) had hockey strength and I believe(Dermott)has hockey strength.…
Dermott will likely begin his professional career with the Toronto Marlies later this month, but with Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak in the final year of their contracts, it is possible that the speedy blueliner will have a good chance at cracking the Toronto lineup next fall.
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Listen to this week’s Blue N’ White Tonight Podcast with the voice of the Leafs, Joe Bowen:
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