I can read your mind. I know that you clicked on this link thinking "What?! You're crazy!" and I know that for a fact. Mike Babcock, the man who hates losing with a passion said there would be pain, so why would I have this crazy theory thought up that the Leafs could be a playoff team in the second year of this rebuild? Well, allow me to explain myself.
We have seen cases like this with other NHL teams in the past. For example, the Colorado Avalanche were a lottery team for a couple of years, they got the first overall pick in 2013 which they used to select Nathan Mackinnon from the Halifax Mooseheads, and what happened the following year? They finished the season a few points shy of the President's Trophy, therefore making the playoffs. They lost in a heartbreaker to the Minnesota Wild in round one, but it was anyone's series. What's another example of this? In 2014, the Calgary Flames did bad enough to secure the fourth overall pick in the draft, which they used to pick Sam Bennett. The following season, they made it to the second round of the playoffs following a solid rookie campaign from Johnny Gaudreau.
I'm not saying this exact scenario will happen to the Maple Leafs, but if you've been watching any games this season, they look much better than their record shows. They have outplayed most of their opponents each game, and their goaltending looks better thanks to a collection of solid outings from James Reimer, and their special teams are clicking. This, along with youth such as Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly stepping up into bigger roles is helping the Leafs play a better game than their record shows.
In my opinion, this season is the last time the Leafs are going to go the route of signing veterans to one year contracts, getting them to the top of their games, and trading them at the deadline for draft picks. They might have one or two of those veterans in next season, but like I said in my last article, I think they'll have top end prospects such as Mitch Marner and William Nylander up on the team. Nylander is NHL ready on the offensive side of the game, and his defensive game has improved greatly according to Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe, and it would not make sense to send Marner back to the OHL for another yaer while he's producing at a 2 PPG pace, given that he can't report to the AHL next season.
So what's the point i'm trying to get at? I think there is a chance. A long shot perhaps, but with the coaching skills of Mike Babcock combined with the stepping up of Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly into bigger roles and big seasons from our young guns, it's entirely possible that the Leafs break out and make the playoffs. Will they continue making the playoffs consistently after next season? Probably not. But it's possible we see it happen next year.
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