There are too many reasons to count as to why the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to frustrate their fan base year after year. Some seasons the main focus has been coaching, others goaltending, and almost always, the core four of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner.
Related: Maple Leafs: 3 Trade Destinations for Mitch Marner
The main target this year is Marner, who had just two points in their first-round series loss to the Boston Bruins. The 27-year-old struggled to make an impact, registering just a goal and two points in the seven-game series. As a result, there has been plenty of speculation that he could be moved this summer, though he has control over his future thanks to a no-move clause in his contract.
Though it hasn’t been as scrutinized, goaltending has also been blamed for this year’s exit. Ilya Samsonov wasn’t horrible, but didn’t play exceptional, either, registering a 3.01 goals against average (GAA) along with a .896 save percentage (SV%). Joseph Woll, who started Games 5 and 6, proved that the Maple Leafs were capable of winning with good goaltending.
The 25-year-old won both of his outings, kicking aside 54 of the 56 shots he faced. Unfortunately, he was hurt in the dying seconds of Game 6, which meant the Maple Leafs had to turn back to Samsonov for Game 7. Overall, he played well, but wasn’t good enough to get the win. Set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, it is highly unlikely he is back, and calls into question why the Maple Leafs didn’t keep a more reliable starter they had on their team four seasons ago in Frederik Andersen.
Andersen a Major Upgrade From Current Situation
Andersen was acquired by the Leafs ahead of the 2016-17 season in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks. He wound up being their starter for the next four seasons, before ultimately being supplanted by Jack Campbell during the 2020-21 campaign.
Given his struggles both in the crease and with health in that 2020-21 season, the Leafs chose to let Andersen walk that offseason, believing that Campbell was the better option. For a brief period of time, that appeared to be the right call, as Campbell came out of the gates hot to start the 2021-22 campaign and was even selected to play in the All-Star Game.
Campbell, however, struggled immensely in the second half of 2021-22, and was part of the reason as to why the Maple Leafs wound up being upset in the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…