Buffalo Sabres division rivals’ 2023 offseasons Part II: Leafs falling?
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres play the Toronto Maple Leafs four times in 2023. Did they gain ground on their Atlantic Division rival this offseason?
While the Buffalo Sabres watched the playoffs once more, the Toronto Maple Leafs broke their curse of perpetual losing in the first round, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning before they fell to the Florida Panthers. This caused turbulence in the Maple Leafs front office, and general manager Kyle Dubas left the organization.
Enter Brad Treliving, who made some quite questionable moves, to put things generously. Not that he’s giving the Sabres an edge just yet – we will find that out in the regular season. But you can question what exactly Treliving’s logic was this offseason.
For one, his key additions were Ryan Reaves, John Klingberg, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Max Domi. So let’s sum this up for a second: He signed an aging forward for three years in Reaves, plus a pair of underperformers this past season in Klingberg and Bertuzzi.
Bertuzzi went from scoring a solid 62 points in 68 games for the Detroit Red Wings in 2021-22 to scoring just 30 in 50 contests for the Wings and the Boston Bruins last season. He also logged just 19 takeaways and a career low in blocks (22) in a full season since 2017-18. This isn’t to say Bertuzzi can’t rediscover his stride, as he’s been an effective player in the past, but there is no denying he had a subpar year.
Buffalo Sabres division rival may have gotten weaker under Treliving
Max Domi has been a journeyman since his rookie season with the Arizona Coyotes in 2015-16. However, Domi was solid last year, scoring 56 points in 80 games with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars, with eight of his 20 goals occurring on the power play. Domi looked good in the faceoff circle last year, winning 53.7% of his draws. He also played well defensively, logging 65 takeaways.
The Maple Leafs also lost several key players that helped them reach the playoffs yet again this past season including Erik Gustafsson, Ryan O’Reilly, Alex Kerfoot, Noah Acciari, Michael Bunting, Luke Schenn, and Justin Holl. Despite these losses, Toronto still boasts a strong core, but there are a few question marks.