The Toronto Maple Leafs sit towards the bottom of the Eastern Conference, with no real direction to give fans a reason to believe in this roster and trust the management staff. The Maple Leafs are 24th in the league, but if they finish 28th, they will keep their first-round pick.
The last time the Maple Leafs missed the postseason was 2015-16; however, that season was different because they had reason to believe. They finished dead last in the NHL, then won the draft lottery and selected Auston Matthews. The year prior, they drafted Mitch Marner 4th overall and William Nylander 7th overall in 2014; alongside Morgan Rielly, there was reason for optimism.