10 NHL Teams To Watch This Season
6. Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs are one of the more obvious teams that promise to be essential-viewing in the upcoming season due to the immense promise of their Big Three. Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Auston Matthews are three of the most valuable Toronto have had this century. First overall pick Matthews in particular is coming off a remarkable NHL debut season in which he won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie with 41 goals.
They acquired long-time veteran Patrick Marleau in the summer in a bid to increase their secondary scoring, but all eyes are on the trio of Matthews, Marner, and Nylander to see if they can possibly improve even more.
The deft management of Brendan Shanahan and Lou Lamoriello combined with the first-class coaching of Mike Babcock has improved the Leafs in lightning fast time, laying the foundations for a Cup-challenging team for years to come. This season will be the first opportunity for the Leafs to show just how far along they are in their journey to end decades of disappointment.