I get it, and it makes sense, but the Maple Leafs shouldn’t try to bring back all of the core four.
For nearly four years, Toronto has set the team on a path forward with Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander leading the way. Through the narrow windings of the Maple Leafs’ trail, the core-four has helped guide this team to an unfound spot on the map.
After defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, there was an inkling as though Toronto had been approaching the promised land. A place where the grass was as green as ever, where the sun was shining as bright as ever, and where it felt like absolutely nothing could go wrong.
Except three days later, Toronto had found themselves being approached by the Florida Panthers, who encircled the Maple Leafs and attacked until there was no life left.
Not even two weeks after fireworks rang off at the intersection of York and Bremner, the team that once thought they had found the promised land ended up actually falling to a darker place.
The sun wasn’t shining. The birds weren’t chirping. And the one person, who’d built the team that thought they found paradise, was sent packing, looking for a new tribe to jo …

Read More

Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation