The Maple Leafs’ growth from a season ago should make it easier for Kyle Dubas to gamble at the trade deadline

The last time the NHL trade deadline came and went, it would be an understatement to say the Maple Leafs were residing in a different world.

Set aside the global pandemic that would arrive a few weeks later and remain a life-changing fixture. When general manager Kyle Dubas emerged to speak with reporters following the uneventful deadline day in late February 2020, the Leafs were a long way from the North Division-leading juggernaut they’ve become. Heck, they were only a couple of days removed from the embarrassment of being made social-media punchlines at the hands of a Zamboni driver. And it didn’t help the perception of Toronto’s NHL operation that Dubas, after watching a slew of Eastern powers strengthen their rosters for the stretch run, stepped in front of a national TV audience and, tossing in a frustrated curse word, derided his team for its “Jekyll and Hyde” inconsistency, acknowledging he didn’t have the faintest clue what ailed them.

“There’s a lot of people that are writing the obituary for the team and putting the team into the ground. And that’s fine, that’s fair. When you play that way, that’s what you get,” Dubas said. “So you can go meekly into the night and build the excuses for why it didn’t work out. Or you fight your way back.”

A little more than a year later, after another playoff disappointment spurred team president Brendan Shanahan to, ahem, strongly encourage a rethinking of the roster makeup with an emphasis on grit and work ethic, it’s safe the say the since-rejigged Leafs have fought their way back admirably. Fortified with veteran wile and solidified on the blue line while riding Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in their primes, the Leafs emerged from Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Canadiens seven points clear of second-place Edmonton atop the North Division standings with 16 games to play. A season after finishing as the NHL’s sixth-worst defensive team as measured by goals-against per game, Toronto was seventh-best — and the best in the North Division — heading into Thursday’s slate of games.

A season after Dubas lamented his team’s maddeningly intermittent interest in things like “focus” and “mindset” and “effort” — a year after the Leafs only hinted at their potential by sprinkling the occasional 60-minute, 200-foot gem amid vast stretches of vacant play — this season’s edition has only produced a handful of moments in which the players have appeared to be lacking in such direction. Which speaks to an admirable transformation, indeed.

“I think that’s what you’re seeing is the difference in our team this year — just the ability to stick with games and not get frustrated,” Jason Spezza, the veteran forward, said recently.

As head coach Sheldon Keefe attempted to pinpoint the reasons for his team’s success for reporters this week, he reeled of a handful of buzz phrases that jumped off the page. He praised his players for the “consistency of (their) mindset.” He pointed out how they’ve been successful in remaining “confident and even-keeled throughout (the season).” A year ago, he was complaining they were “immature.” Now, they’ve grown.

“When we’re winning, the guys just come in and continue to work,” Keefe said. “And when we’re losing guys didn’t get down on each other, just continued to come to the rink and work and be positive and be confident that it’s going to turn and put in the necessary work to make sure that it does. I think that’s what I take out of the season — the spirit of the team has been consistent.”

Which brings us back to Monday’s approaching trade deadline. As good as the Leafs have been, Wednesday’s game against the Canadiens was also an illustration of how a single absence can change the complexion of Toronto’s lineup. Sure, the Leafs won. But on a night when William Nylander was self-isolating after a potential COVID-19 exposure, suddenly it was the untested Alex Barabanov who was thrust into a prominent spot on Toronto’s second line. That speaks to the need for Dubas to follow through on the pre-deadline move he’s long hinted at: a top-six-worthy forward who’ll give Keefe either another option alongside John Tavares or a reinforcement in the event of injury.

When you glimpse at Toronto’s depth chart beyond its top six defencemen — and when you consider the prospect of a lengthy post-season run that seems more than possible — it only makes sense Dubas would consider the addition of another veteran blueliner to the mix. As it is, Martin Marincin, the eternal Leaf, remains the likeliest emergency replacement.

And, yes, as we’ve previously argued in this space, it would seem reckless to proceed into the playoffs without adding another goaltender to the squad. But Dubas has essentially said he’s comfortable with the triumvirate of Frederik Andersen, Jack Campbell and Michael Hutchinson, no matter that Andersen and Campbell have already endured multiple injury-induced absences.

And fair enough. At some point, when it comes to injuries and COVID-19 absences, the NHL season can be boiled down to a roll of the dice. Monday’s trade deadline, on the contrary, is a chance to exert a final bit of control over fate, one last chance to fortify one’s hand before the games that truly count. And these Maple Leafs have proven they’re worth a big bet.

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