NHL Standings Basement Arms Race:Leafs, Oilers, Coyotes, Sabres

Mitchell Marner puts on a leafs jersey. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

#27 Toronto Maple Leafs

Since exiting the second round of the 2003-04 playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs have fallen on hard times. The only bright spot was the 2012-13 season where they made the playoffs with by finishing in 5^th place of the Eastern Conference. Of course, this was still a season of turmoil. The GM, Brian Burke, was fired that January and it was clear that his rebuild from 2008-2013 was a failure. The Leafs later exited the first round of the playoffs versus the Boston Bruins.

“The challenge in Toronto is not coming up with the plan but sticking to the plan. That is the hard part. Our vision is to draft and develop our own players. I think every decision we make has to be about building a winning organization that can sustain itself year after year after year through the draft.” – Brendan Shanahan, President Toronto Maple Leafs

This past season, Brendan Shanahan announced that this time the Leafs would rebuild the right way. As a result, the Toronto Maple Leafs finished the 2014-15 season in 27^th place with 68 points. Unfortunately for Leafs fans, this rebuild could still take some time. The Leafs signed a number of decent veterans on short-term contracts to help them through this season, but expect any number of them to be traded by the trade deadline. Make no mistake, management’s mission is to obtain prospects and picks for the 2016 NHL Draft.

The good news is that they have Mike Babcock as a coach now, and they do have a decent young core to start with. Of all the skaters 25 and under, the team has 2 who were top 5 draft picks, 9 from the first round and 6 from the second round. The most notable talent of the rebuild includes Mitchell Marner (18), William Nylander (19), Morgan Rielly (21) and the slightly older Nazem Kadri (24).

What I wonder is how some of the older team members will fit into the future. They have two quality 26 year olds from the 2007 draft. The forward James Van Riemsdyk was drafted 2^nd overall and Nick Spaling was drafted 58^th overall. In addition, they have two decent 27 year old goaltenders: Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer. For defensemen and goaltenders, the ages of 26 and 27 are still fairly young. As a 26 year old forward, Van Riemsdyk might not quite fit into the future and is an attractive trade target for a team that is further along. I say it is about 50/50 whether Van Riemsdyk stays.

Next: The Edmonton Oilers