Three Maple Leafs' Facing the Biggest Season of their Careers
After finally escaping the first-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2022-23, the weight of the world is now on the shoulders of the Toronto Maple Leafs, with three key players facing arguably the biggest seasons of their career.
While there's plenty of questions facing the Leafs, their forward group appears to be locked in with elite level talent, but for their ultimate goals to be reached, The Hockey Writers have established three players that need to have career years.
First up is William Nylander, who is reportedly asking Toronto for upwards of $9 million on his next contract, and while 74 goals over the past two years is impressive, he needs a career year to prove he should get such a massive contract.
Newcomers
Beyond that, the Leafs need two newcomers, Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi to be at their very best this year, as they will be replacements for Ryan O'Reilly and Michael Bunting, who proved to be key pieces a season ago.
For Domi, it's all about proving he belongs and that he can step out of the shadow of his famous Maple Leaf father Tie, and for Bertuzzi, he wants to prove that he can stay healthy and produce consistently at an elite level, and paired with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, he'll seemingly have his chance in 2023-24.
As Read on The Hockey Writers - 3 Maple Leafs' Forwards With The Most To Prove This Season
| POLL | ||
Which one of these players will have the best season in 2023-24? | ||
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 400 | 42.5 % |
| William Nylander | 356 | 37.8 % |
| Max Domi | 186 | 19.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
