The Boston Bruins have had their fair share of memorable moments against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It has gotten to the point where you almost have to feel bad for Maple Leafs fans, as it's been heartbreak after heartbreak for the team, both at the hands of the Bruins and from the other teams in the Atlantic Division.
You don't want to rain on the parade of the team's fanbase, but something has to be said about the state of their roster entering this season. It seems that the fans believe the loss of Mitch Marner will be a net positive for the team, but I believe they are failing to recognize the player's importance.
Sure, things didn't always go well for Marner in the postseason, but he has been their best regular season player for each of the past two seasons. While he finished 18(!!) points ahead of the next closest Leaf in points last season, it was his impact all over the ice that made him a star. People often criticized his reluctance to be physical, but he was one of the team's better defensive forwards.
Marner turned himself into the team's best penalty killer up front. He was always the first guy over the boards when the team had to kill a significant penalty, and he had become very good at doing it. It wasn't just because he could turn defense into offense quickly - he was genuinely a skilled penalty killer in his own zone.
The most obvious place where the team will miss Marner is on the powerplay. He was the team's main distributor, as he was essentially surrounded by four shooters when Craig Berube made the switch to a five-forward rollout. Who is going to be the playmaker on a Leafs powerplay that already had it's struggles?
Another particular player who will miss Marner is captain Auston Matthews. Matthews is one of the best scorers in the world, but he can't do everything himself. The fans convincing themselves that Matias Maccelli is going to step in for Marner are going to be very disappointed.
The Maple Leafs aren't going to completely fall off without Marner, but it isn't going to be as easy for them as they think. The defensive core has plenty of question marks, including Morgan Reilly's play and four of their best being over 30. They are also relying on their two goaltenders to replicate their career years, while trying to replace Marner's contributions with Maccelli, Nicolas Roy, and Dakota Joshua.
The Maple Leafs will still make the playoffs, but the days of being a dominant regular season team are likely over. Maybe playing more of an underdog role in the regular season will in a weird way help them perform better in the postseason? Nevertheless, a slightly worse Leafs team could greatly benefit the Bruins as they own the team's first-round draft pick next June.