What Leafs Fans Should Want: Tank 2.0

Now that the Matthews show is in full force after last night's insane historic 4 goal debut performance, we need to look at what Leaf fans should be hoping for this season. I've been watching different forums during the off season and the Matthews talk is at an all time high, but Leafs fans need to be cautious with their expectations. Now don't get me wrong, Matthews is the real deal; that much is clear from his performance over the past year in Switzerland, the World Cup, and his debut. But the Leafs still aren't there and the fans should be chanting for one more tank.

Last night's game shows what the Leafs have and what they don't. Matthews came to play, but he wasn't alone. The casual fan sees his 4 goals as the only goals the Leafs scored, and think he's the only one who showed up. The reality is the Leafs were metaphorically split into two teams last night, the “new” and the “old”. The new is made up of all of the young guys who have just joined the NHL. Nylander, Marner, Brown, Matthews, Hyman, Zaitsev all played great. The old consists of Kadri, JVR, Komorov, Gardiner, Andersen, Bozak, Marincin, Martin all played mediocre at best, and did nothing most of the time (Rielly and Carrick were something in between). The new guys are skilled, but they aren't supposed to be the ones who also look experienced. Breakdowns in the defensive zone during the Senators rushes killed the Leafs chances of winning, and it's a shame that Matthews’ incredible performance ended on a bad note. It’s only game one, but if the experienced guys hide behind Matthews all year, then Leafs fans should expect another low standings finish again this year. The thing is, that's what they should be hoping for.

The Leafs are going to be really good one day. Any hockey fan who doesn’t see this is just hating them because they’re the Leafs. The issue is, they still need more. In my opinion, “more” comes in the form of the Swedish sensation Timothy Liljegren. The Leafs need another top pairing guy and Liljegren seems well on his way to well exceeding that. Rielly, Gardiner, Zaitsev, Marincin, Carrick is a decent group of defensemen (don't get me started on Hunwick), but only Rielly is a top pairing guy. Gardiner is criminally underrated, and Zaitsev is a bit of an uncertainty but I still only see them as successful 2nd pairing guys, which is fine. Liljegren completes this defensive lineup. The issue is, Liljegren seems to be a lock to be chosen in the top two of this coming draft.

So, Leafs Nation should be calling for Tank 2.0 in the best attempt to get Liljegren. In the process, if the young guys keep performing than that should only increase optimism. Only then will they have the complete team. Only then will they be built from the bottom up fully (people will criticize the goaltending from Andersen but he’ll bounce back). Tank 2.0 folks. That's what takes the Leafs from a future really good team, to a future incredible team.