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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – Two days after their first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Washington Capitals, the Toronto Maple Leafs gathered for a final time at the Air Canada Centre for exit interviews with the coaching staff and media.

With everything from summer plans to what the team might look like next season covered, here’s what we learned as the Maple Leafs head into the off-season.

Change is on the horizon

Toronto may have exceeded internal or external expectations this season, but the five-year ‘Shanaplan’ is still very much in effect. Six playoff games are not enough to placate anyone within the organization.

“We have to get better, there’s no question,” said general manager Lou Lamoriello. “You can always get better, you can’t be satisfied. Once you get satisfied, complacency sets in. Once complacency sets in, you’re in trouble. We took a step forward this year with the experience end of it, players believing they can do certain things, but it’s only a step.”

President Brendan Shanahan, Lamoriello and head coach Mike Babcock live by the philosophy that finding the right type of player to fill a need for the team is just as important as filling the need itself. The acquisition of Brian Boyle at the trade deadline was the perfect example – Babcock said the team knew it had to try and make playoffs to give the young players valuable experience, and bringing in a high-character centre like Boyle was as crucial as improving their thinnest position.

That mentality will carry into the summer months as Lamoriello navigates an expansion draft that will make the market murkier than usual. The blueline is where the Maple Leafs would project to make the most sweeping changes, especially with Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak both over 30 and hitting unrestricted free agency. Whether Lamoriello would go the Edmonton Oilers’ route and swap a talented young forward for a defenceman depends on a multitude of factors.

“You’ll do whatever you can to get better, but you don’t do things for the sake of doing them,” Lamoriello said. “If you can’t bring in the right type of player, then you do nothing. I don’t know if anyone can gauge the market because, from my experience with expansion, a lot of things are going to take place prior to [it]. Whatever you might think a team has excess of might not be [the case].”

After more than three decades in the NHL, Lamoriello knows that for all the lessons his team learned this season, the hardest ones are yet to come. The Maple Leafs days as plucky, lovable underdogs are coming to an end – but that doesn’t mean they’re on the cusp of contending for a Stanley Cup either.  

“Close is a funny word. Then you get into hypotheticals,” Lamoriello said. “It’s a step. And now it’s our job to convince the players that it’s only a step. It’s going to get more difficult. Teams are going to look at you a little different in how they approach you. There’s a lot that can transpire; that’s why it’s just a step.”
 
Roster spots will be up for grabs

Babcock said during the season that the Maple Leafs will be a hard team to make in coming seasons with all the young talent coming up the ranks. He and Lamoriello reiterated that point on Tuesday.

“You’re telling guys they have to come back and win a job, that’s just the reality,” Babcock said. “That’s what it’s all about. The more competition you have internally for those jobs, the more success you’re going to have long-term and we’re not good enough [now].”

Veteran forwards James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak each have one more season left on their deals. Lamoriello praised them for their contributions to the team this season, from buying into the culture to helping nurture the young players.

With Babcock revealing that William Nylander will not move to centre next year after spending the season at right wing, it looks like Bozak will finish out the final year of his contract with the Maple Leafs next season as their depth in the organization at the position is weaker than they’d like.

Boyle will be a UFA in July, but expressed interest in returning to Toronto. More unclear is how many of the talented young wingers in the Maple Leafs’ system are ready to make the jump, and whether Toronto would consider moving van Riemsdyk to free up a roster spot for one of them.

As with everything else, Lamoriello and his group will proceed with caution in the afterglow of a good season.

“You have to be extremely careful when you have a year like this, coming from the year before [in 30th place], you might think it’s okay,” he said. “This is a tough league. Each and every one of our players has to do what’s necessary for them to be better next year. Then it’s our job to fill in the areas where we feel we need to add. Getting better within is more important right now.”

As for Nylander, he said he’s fine playing wherever he’s asked. The chemistry he’s developed playing on Auston Matthews’ wing is certainly an incentive to stay there.

“It just happens with some guys where you click from the first shift, from the first time you pass the puck to one another,” Nylander said. “That might have been what happened there. It just happens like that.”

Captain question mark remains

The Maple Leafs haven’t had a captain since Dion Phaneuf was shipped to the Ottawa Senators in February of 2016. Morgan Rielly, Leo Komarov, Bozak and Hunwick were named alternate captains for the 2016-17 campaign, but conventional wisdom suggests that’s a one-season stopgap until a leader emerges within the room.

Asked directly on Tuesday if it’s important for his team to name a captain for next season, Babcock simply answered “no.” But Toronto has a pair of candidates that should top the shortlist of players ready to take on the responsibility.

With four NHL seasons under his belt, Rielly has blossomed under the harsh glare of Toronto’s spotlight. He’s been through the ringer of a couple rough seasons, and his maturity on the ice and with the media is exemplary. Babcock has repeatedly praised his character and called him one of the best young defenders playing today.

“That’s not something that I think about,” Rielly said of potentially taking the captaincy. “You just want to be the best player you can be, the best person. We expect that from all 20 guys, not just one or two.”

Matthews was even better than advertised in his rookie season, as a player and a person. His 40-goal total aside, Matthews, who will turn 20 in September, earned his teammates’ and coaches’ respect in a hurry with his commitment to improving. Lamoriello didn’t bite on a question about Matthews potentially being captain, but winger Matt Martin’s insight on what makes Matthews special sheds a light on why he’d be an ideal candidate.  

“He’s impressive at his age with his attitude and how determined he is to be great, and also how he recognizes the importance of everyone in the room and what they bring. He’s not just focused on himself,” said Martin. “If a guy blocks a shot, or fights, he’s the first guy on the bench to say something. He’s well-aware of what everyone brings, and that’s what’s going to make him a great leader.”