How can the Toronto Maple Leafs only have won one series over the last eight years with a star-studded lineup bursting with talent? Kyle Dubas had no idea and it eventually cost him his job. New general manager Brad Treliving came in and decided to give the team more grit and physicality, but he didn’t get it exactly right. I believe strong, experienced, and winning leadership could be just what the doctor ordered and there is one particular player who ticks all the boxes; Corey Perry. If he decides to keep playing next season, Treliving must have him on his radar.
When the Going Gets Tough, It’s Good to Be Tough
Last summer, in free agency, Treliving tried to make some moves to change the perception that his team and players were soft. It was successful to an extent. Giving a three-year deal to enforcer Ryan Reaves kind of missed the mark. The days of Dave Semenko skating with Wayne Gretzky or Marty McSorley being the Great One’s bodyguards are over. Remember when the Edmonton Oilers signed Milan Lucic to assign him to Connor McDavid’s safety detail? He couldn’t keep up with the The Next One. After playing three years of the seven-year pact he had signed, he was traded to the Calgary Flames.
Nowadays, you do not need bloodthirsty enforcers to have a tough team, you need to have talented players who can play tough. Guys who can put the puck in the net, but who can also get under the opponent’s skin and step up if someone’s trying to take liberties with the team’s top players. Thankfully, Treliving didn’t stop at Reaves and he also put pen to paper with Max Domi and Todd Bertuzzi. Players who can contribute to the attack, but can also be pests when the situation calls for it. By the end of the Maple Leafs’ latest first-round exit to the Boston Bruins, Domi and Bertuzzi were Matthews’ linemates. The GM has to sign them again and make them fit under the cap, which is no small task.
Perry’s Experience Needed
When a team has a tough time winning a playoff series and making their way to the Stanley Cup Final, GMs often turn to experienced competitors to help their young players learn to win. It’s exactly what old-timer Lou Lamoriello did when he signed Patrick Marleau to a three-year deal in July 2017. Marleau would only play two seasons with Toronto in the end, and they both ended with a first-round loss to the Bruins in seven games. New GM Dubas promptly traded Marleau and his $6.25 million cap hit to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Dubas still wanted some experience for the young Maple Leafs, but not for a truckload of money, so he signed veteran Jason Spezza to a one-year contract for just $700,000 for the 2019-20 season. Spezza explained he wanted to win the Stanley Cup and playing for a lower wage to accomplish that goal was worth it. However, the Maple Leafs failed to qualify for the playoffs that season, losing 3-2 in the play-in round at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Tenacious, Spezza signed on for another season (2020-21) and his Stanley Cup dream ended in the first round, losing to the Montreal Canadiens after leading the series 3-1. On Spezza’s third try (2021-22), Toronto lost in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning and he called time on his career.
Related: Oilers Represent Corey Perry’s Best Chance at Second Cup
Dubas had also brought in Joe Thornton for a year in 2020-21, but even Jumbo Joe uniting forces with Spezza wasn’t enough, and that year, Toronto fell to Montreal in the first round after leading the series 3-1.
What do these three veterans have in common (aside from being close to retirement)? Long careers with not a single Cup win. Perhaps surrounding the Maple Leafs’ youth with veterans who already played a prominent role on a Stanley Cup-winning team would have been the better course of action. Yet, it’s the veteran Reaves who has never lifted the Cup either that Treliving signed for three years.
The Maple Leafs Need a Proven Winner and Leader
When the Oilers put that last nail in the Dallas Stars on Sunday night, it made Perry the first player in history to reach the Stanley Cup Final with five different teams. This is no small feat and it’s also worth noting that he made it to the Final three seasons in a row with the Stars in 2020, the Canadiens in 2021 and the Lightning in 2022. That also means he has appeared in four out of the last five Cup Finals.
Of course, he only won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks, but still, there’s no denying the gritty winger knows exactly what it takes to win and that’s sorely missing in the Toronto locker room. Will Perry still play next season? I’ll admit I don’t know. However, it feels like he will call it quits if he gets another Cup; go out on a high, as they say. If he loses though? Maybe he’ll want to keep chasing another Cup. If I’m Treliving I would explore the idea.
There is still the “small matter” of knowing why his contract was terminated in Chicago, but if the NHL allowed him to sign quickly with Edmonton, it can’t have been that bad, can it? Also, if John Tavares is still there, there might be a burnt bridge to fix. In the 2021 Canadiens’ victory over the Maple Leafs, Perry was the one who took Tavares out of the series with an accidental hit to the head. Many will tell you though, there’s never anything accidental when it comes to Perry and Tavares might feel the same way.
We’ll see if a winner is on the Maple Leafs’ shopping list this offseason. It should be if you ask me, but Mr. Treliving might just disagree. Who knows, perhaps the Maple Leafs picking up the Oilers’ leftovers will work better than when Edmonton signed Toronto free-agent goaltender Jack Campbell in the summer of 2022.
