Toronto Maple Leafs: 5 Takeaways from their Offseason Moves

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Mar 9, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan announces that the Leafs will play in an outdoor game called the Centennial Classic on Jan 1, 2017. Toronto defeated New York 4-3 in an overtime shoot out. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

5) Moving forward

Even with all the changes and progress made by the Leafs, there is still uncertainty with where they will be a couple of years from now. They will eventually have a situation like there currently is in Tampa Bay, where the priority is the team and not one individual player.

The Leafs only have to ask Canadiens fans what can happen when too much is made about one player. Lou Lamoriello made this clear when they drafted Auston Matthews, that an individual would not be deemed as the saviour.

Jun 24, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Auston Matthews poses for a photo with team officials after being selected as the number one overall draft pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagra Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

Lamoriello said: “I don’t think there’s any player that’s going to be the face of this franchise. The logo will be the face of the franchise.”

In addition, when asked about luring players to the team, he said: “I don’t think there’s anything the franchise should not look at.”

For players like Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly, the pressure will fall on them moving forward. This is why it would have been nice for Stamkos to come in and take some of that away.

However, the situation in Tampa Bay is one Stamkos wants to stay with. In a way, he sent a message to his team, by taking less money in order to stay in Tampa.

Stamkos said: “It’s obviously a tough task. But with the core we have, the guys have to realize the situation with the salary cap and the potential we have.

“If we did want to stay together, sacrifices have to be made from both sides.” This has to be a message to players, like pending RFA Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson.

The silver lining for Leafs fans is that the team were not in a situation where they had to sign Stamkos. Of course, it would have been nice to add a player with the qualities he possesses, without giving up anything but cap space.

Overall, Leafs fans can continue to be disappointed about the missed opportunity to get Stamkos, but at least he did not sign with the Detroit Red Wings, or worse, the Buffalo Sabres. While the Leafs may end up doing more this offseason, they should feel confident knowing they did not have a big list and were not pressured to do something they did not have to.

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