Legendary goaltender Grant Fuhr, a five-time Stanley Cup champion, recently shared his thoughts on the upcoming NHL playoffs while speaking with other Canadian hockey legends Lanny McDonald and Doug Gilmour.
With Canada having not brought home the Cup in over 30 years, Fuhr is hoping one of the Canadian teams like the Oilers, Jets, Canucks or Maple Leafs can break the drought in 2024.
When discussing the Maple Leafs’ chances, Fuhr acknowledged the brilliance of Auston Matthews, who won his third Maurice Richard Trophy this season with a career-high 69 goals. However, he questioned whether Toronto has enough secondary scoring to make a deep playoff run:
“Everybody knows that Matthews is Toronto’s goal-scorer, their biggest key will be whether they have the secondary scoring,” Fuhr said to the NHL.com.
“You know that somebody is going to shadow Matthews. That’s just the way the playoffs work. If they take him away, does Toronto have somebody who can step up and fill that gap?”
Fuhr pointed out that the Leafs will likely face some physical teams in the Eastern Conference playoffs:
“Unfortunately for them, the East is really good this year. All the teams they’re going to play are big, physical teams.”
The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to compete against the Boston Bruins in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Maple Leafs HC Sheldon Keefe’s preparation for Game 1 against Bruins
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe expressed confidence in his team’s ability to match up against their long-time rivals:
“We’re equipped with a lot of depth scoring, competitiveness, grit, physicality, toughness,” Keefe said in an interview with Maple Leafs’ ‘Hotstove’. “Excited to get going.”
Keefe provided a brief update on the status of winger William Nylander, who along with Bobby McMann missed practice on Wednesday:
“We kept him off the ice today. He and Bobby McMann stayed off the ice, but both are possibilities for tomorrow. That is it.”
Keefe revealed that Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has instructed him not to give daily injury updates during the playoffs. The team will only announce if someone is definitely in or out of the lineup.
When asked about the feeling around the team heading into the series, Keefe said:
“The feeling is good. Guys are excited. It is good to turn the page on the regular season.
“From a player and coach’s perspective, you are digging in on the preparation. There is not a whole lot of time. Our schedule has been tight. You want just to drop the puck and get going. It is the most exciting time of the year,” he added.
The puck drop for Game 1 is set for 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday night at TD Garden.
