Leafs can't afford sophomore slumps next season

While the idea of 'going with youth' is a nice concept, the reality of the situation is that young players go through various highs and lows in the first few years of their development. Unless you have a superstar prospect on your hands, it's likely that there will be an adjustment period. The key when going through such a slump is that you work your way out of it and don't let it determine your career as a player.

Luke Schenn is a good example of a player who went through the dreaded 'sophomre slump' in his second season with the Maple Leafs, but instead of letting it consume his season he was able to work his way out of it and ended on a stronger note. Nikolai Kulemin is another player who started slow, but found his groove as the season went on.

On the opposite end of things, forwards John Mitchell and Mikhail Grabovski had serious lows on the season. Both players weren't able to elevate their games to the next level, both suffered injuries, and both tried to do too much with the puck.

Now next season the Maple Leafs will have as many as six sophomore players on their roster and for the Maple Leafs to be a playoff team they'll need to have those players avoid prolonged slumps.

It's unrealistic to assume that all six of the returning sophomores Carl Gunnarsson, Jonas Gustavsson, Tyler Bozak, Viktor Stalberg, Luca Caputi and Christian Hanson will be impervious to slumps, but it'll be very important for the Maple Leafs that Gustavsson, Bozak and Stalberg can continue to elevate their games.

Carl Gunnarsson, should he slump, is at least solidified by a number of capable defenders (at least on paper). Luca Caputi and Christian Hanson won't be relied on to put up big numbers, so they too can at least be shielded from major scrutiny. Caputi being 21, may not even make the club out of camp next season.

Tyler Bozak will be looked on to at least fill a second-line center spot, which means producing at around a 50pt clip, while also being reliable at both ends of the ice. Viktor Stalberg had an up and down season, but really turned it on in the last 20 games and was starting to become a more dominant player on the puck. He too will need to be a secondary scorer going into next season. With Jonas Gustavsson, its' no secret - the Maple Leafs need him to be at least a 1b goalie. Someone they can rely on to tandem with Giguere and push him to be a better goalie.

With a lack of high-end free agent forwards on the market the Maple Leafs will rely on those three players to be main contributors next season. While the roster isn't set for next season, and a lot could change between now and then, the importance of quality depth is key for any team to be successful. If Bozak, Stalberg and Gustavsson fail to raise their games, we may be pointing to them next season as reasons why the Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for a six straight year.

Maple Leafs poised to finish in the bottom two - but is there a silver lining going forward?

"I'd do the deal again tomorrow" is a common response from Brian Burke when asked about the Kessel deal, but just because he'd make the deal again that doesn't make it the right move for the Maple Leafs.

Regardless of what Burke would have you believe, it would make little sense for him to make such a deal had he known what he does today: the Maple Leafs will be finishing in the bottom two.

Sure, he's getting a bonafide first line talent in Kessel, a player who can score 30 goals and create plays on the rush, but what is he giving up? Kessel, in himself is a 5th overall selection from 2006, taken behind such players as Erik Johnson, Jordan Staal, Jonathan Towes, and Nicklas Backstrom. So Burke has given up a top-two selection in exchange for a fifth overall selection, but that's not all. He has also given up another top 32 selection, which could be just as good as another first round pick. Then there's the 2011 pick that was given up, and if the Maple Leafs finish in the bottom-three again ... oh boy.

Of course, this is all hindsight, but even at the time of the deal it drew huge criticism for giving up selections that were suppose to be apart of the rebuild here in Toronto. Even with all the wheeling and dealing, the depature of multiple players and multiple draft picks there may be a silver lining heading into next season.

The Maple Leafs have a few parts in place that, on paper (and I stress on paper) give more optimism for next season:

1. Phil Kessel, the high priced sniper who scored 30 goals this season even though he missed time this season with injury.

2. Young, tough, big shooting defender Dion Phaneuf to start the season. If Phaneuf can rebound to a 50pt type defender the Maple Leafs will be much better off for it.

3. It seems as if the Maple Leafs will go into next season with two capable goaltenders in Jonas Gustavsson and Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The key for next season will be how the goaltending holds up, they can't afford to have another Toskala like goaltending situation to start next season.

The defence seems solid enough to go into next season with (even if they've played poorly for 75% of this season), but the forwards will need a major addition to pull the Maple Leafs out of the basement, and a lot of that will come from adding one via trade or UFA and hoping Kadri can come in and be a strong secondary scorer.

So with these three pillars in place the Maple Leafs should be better to start next season even if they made small changes, but again most expected them to be a lot better than they have been this season also. Needless to say, Burke has a tough summer ahead of him if he wants to pull this team out of the basement.