Toronto Maple Leafs 2021 Predictions, Team Odds and Season Preview
Toronto is the favourite to win the new all-Canadian North Division on the NHL futures board and at +745 they only trail the Colorado Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup.
Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas saw a lack of experience and grit last year and remedied it in the off-season with the additions of Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, T.J. Brodie and Zach Bogosian. He also added a reliable backup goalie in Jack Campbell, who should help carry the load in a condensed season, giving the Leafs one of their best shots in a long time to win their first Stanley Cup since 1967.
Toronto Maple Leafs 2021 NHL Odds
With the same core group of superstars built around Auston Matthews and the addition of future hall of famer Joe Thornton, the Leafs are easily seeing the most action on the NHL futures board. Their season point total over/under is the highest of any Canadian team at 74.5 and they’re the favourites to win the new all-Canadian North Division at +132 and be the next Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup at +250.
League-wide the Leafs are even seeing more action than defending champion Tampa Bay, as the Buds are +741 to win the Stanley Cup, second only to the Colorado Avalanche. Bettors are expecting a big year from Auston Matthews, as he is the favourite for the Rocket Richard Trophy at +326, is the third favourite for the Hart at +800 and fifth favourite for the Art Ross at +1,400.
Toronto Maple Leafs 2019-20 Season
Record: 36-25-9 (81 points in 70 games before season pause); Third place in Atlantic Division; Lost in Qualifying Round, 2-3 (Blue Jackets)
Leading Scorers: Auston Matthews (80 Points); Auston Matthews (47 Goals)
After a 9-10-4 start to the season, head coach Mike Babcock was fired and replaced with Toronto Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe. The Leafs improved under Keefe to finish in eighth place in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Columbus Blue Jackets three games to two in the best-of-five Stanley Cup Qualifiers.
Last year was a step back for a Leafs team that is increasingly dealing with salary cap issues. Toronto’s core of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander combined to take up 49.7 percent of the Leafs cap hit, despite continuing to fail to live up to expectations. While Matthews put up career highs in points (80) and goals (47) in the shortened season and led the team in playoff scoring with six points in five games, Marner, Tavares and Nylander were largely ineffective in the qualifying round. This core four the Leafs have built around couldn’t get it done in 2019-20 and with no cap relief coming anytime soon, fans are starting to get impatient in Toronto.
Maple Leafs Trades / Acquisitions
In the off-season Leafs management clearly saw an issue with leadership and toughness. The additions of Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, T.J. Brodie and Zach Bogosian should provide Toronto with a gritty veteran presence that hasn’t been seen in a Leafs uniform in years. GM Kyle Dubas also provided some depth behind No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen with the addition of Jack Campbell. In a compressed schedule with a lot of back-to-back games, having a solid goaltending tandem could give the Leafs a decided advantage.
Players to Watch
Auston Matthews: Matthews is seeing a ton of love on the NHL futures board and for good reason. Despite the shortened season he set a career high in goals (47) and points (80) last year, and was the only Leafs player to break the point per game average in the qualifying round, with two goals and four assists in six games. He’s sitting at +326 to win the Rocket Richard (highest odds), +800 to win the Hart (behind only Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon) and +1,400 to win the Art Ross (Top 5). Matthews has done nothing but improve every year and it would be shocking not to see him set career highs again, while finally picking up some serious hardware in the process.
Frederik Andersen: In just his fifth year with the Leafs, Andersen ranks fifth in franchise wins (136), third in save percentage (.916, minimum 100 games) and seventh in games played (244), but he’s entering the final year of his contract and with a 10-14 record in the playoffs with Toronto, there is no guarantee he comes back. With a capable backup available to provide rest and playing in a contract year with high expectations to win and plenty to prove, Andersen might be a pretty good pick at +1,200 on the NHL futures board to win the 2021 Vezina Trophy.
Morgan Rielly: Rielly’s offensive numbers took a bit of a dip last year because of a broken foot that kept him out of action for two months. He ended up finishing the season with 27 points in 47 games, but was playing injured through a lot of those games. His total points number on the NHL futures board is a pretty conservative 36.5 and he sits at +1,900 for the Norris Trophy. Fully healthy and likely to be paired with T.J. Brodie on the top pairing, Rielly should be set for a big bounce back year on a Leafs team favoured to win the division.
Best Bets
The Leafs underperformed last year and as a result they had one of the worst puckline spread records in the league at 30-40 overall. As the favourite they went just 22-35 on the puckline, while they did manage to go 8-5 as the underdog. Last year, Toronto ranked third in average goals for, with 3.31 (league average was 2.99) and 25th in average goals against. Whether they’re on their game or not, this is a team that loves to hit the over.
Toronto Maple Leafs 2021 Season Prediction
Despite underperforming last year, this is a team primed to finally win a playoff series. Grouped in an all-Canadian division they are listed on the NHL futures board at -902 to make the playoffs and should finally be able to break their first round curse now that they are guaranteed not to face the Bruins in the first two rounds. Auston Matthews and William Nylander are coming off the best year of their careers and with added experience and grit in Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, T.J. Brodie and Zach Bogosian, this is the best chance the Leafs have had at the Cup in years.