5 ways Maple Leafs winning NHL Draft Lottery will save franchise
By Leah Smith
5. Auston Matthews
Since Mats Sundin left the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team has never had a true number one center. That changes now that they can draft Auston Matthews.
Matthews may only be 18, but he has spent the last year playing men in the Swiss league, rather than against younger players in Junior.
Playing in Zurich of the Swiss-A league, he played 36 games scoring 24 goals and 22 assists. He finished second on his team in scoring and tenth overall in the entire league. At the end of the season, he finished second in MVP voting, not bad for a guy that took two weeks off to play at the World Junior Hockey Championships.
What this means for the Leafs is that they have some much needed depth at centre. Tyler Bozak, will no longer have to fill the number one role when he is projected to be either a second or third line center.
Nazem Kadri also gets the pressure taken off of his shoulders and moves further down the depth chart. The team showed confidence in Kadri by signing him to a new six-year deal, but Bozak can be traded for even more pieces of the rebuild.
There might be some growing pains as Matthews adjusts to the NHL, but he should be the number one centre that the Leafs have been waiting years for.
Next: 4. The front office