2005 Toronto Maple Leafs Preview
Welcome to the 2005 Toronto Maple Leafs Preview page. The NHL Hockey Season is around the corner and what better way to remind the public how exciting the NHL can be with a 2005 season preview from Maddux Sports. Remember if you are betting on NHL hockey look no further, as we are one of the few sports handicapping services that offers NHL picks against the hockey betting line and can help you be a winner this NHL betting season.
2005 Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Season Preview
It has been almost 40 years since Toronto won the Stanley Cup. This year’s Maple Leaf’s are composed of some of the best veteran players the league has to offer. In fact the Maple Leafs have the oldest team in the NHL. But don’t read “decrepit” into “old.” Think “seasoned,” “wily,” and “skilled.”
In the last NHL season, Mats Sundin had another exemplary year. Finishing thirteenth overall in scoring with 75 points, the classy center made 31 goals and had 44 assists in 81 games. Sundin is a take-charge leader and a goal scoring catalyst. Yet, Toronto was not content with having one superstar at center, so they acquired another one—Eric Lindros.
Lindros is a tough guy (he usually posts more than 100 penalty minutes a season) who, like Sundin, can create prime scoring opportunities for his team. During the 2003-04 season with the Rangers he missed the last 30 games due to injury and in 2000-01 he missed the entire season because he was hurt. If that entire missed season is any indication of how he may perform in a season that follows an injury, it’s interesting to note that in 2001-02 he played 72 games, posted 73 points, and spent 138 minutes in the penalty box.
On defense Toronto hoped that veteran free agent Brian Leetch would return but the Bruins managed to scoop up the prolific defenseman, leaving the Leafs with one two-way defenseman, Bryan McCabe, rather than two. In 2003-04 McCabe had 53 points while Leetch earned 51. The hockey club is hoping the slack can be taken up by new addition Carlo Colaiacovo but that will remain to be seen.
Then there’s forty-year-old Ed Belfour. There are some goalies that just seem to go on forever. (It’s that Patrick Roi thing.) Two years ago with Toronto Belfour protected the space between the pipes in 69 games. He won the second highest number of games of any goalie (34) with a GAA of 2.13. Belfour, the consummate veteran, enters his seventeenth season as fiery and aggressive as ever.
So, what’s in the future for the Toronto club? This powerful and sage Maple Leaf roster may be enough to take the team through the playoffs and to the Holy Grail of hockey.
