This just in… the Toronto Maple Leafs are Stanley Cup favourites.
Come again? Yeah, it’s true.
For the first time in probably forever, the Leafs are listed as the team to beat, according to the website OddsShark.com.
Toronto and the Tampa Bay Lightning are listed as co-favourites to carry around the Cup when next year’s playoffs come to a close.
But before you pick out your spot on the parade route near the Air Canada Centre, let’s all take a deep breath and take stock of where we are in the NHL’s regular season.
Toronto has played just seven games. Yes, the Leafs are off to a dazzling 6-1 start, and they’ve scored a league-best 34 goals so far, but they have a long way to go.
Seventy-five more games will be played and there are tough road trips ahead, and — fingers crossed — injuries could also be a factor as the grind of the NHL campaign intensifies at the turn of the calendar.
What we do know is that Toronto is deep offensively and Frederik Anderson has provided solid goaltending since he arrived in town.
However, the Achilles heel of this team continues to be its defensive play.
If the Leafs are able to figure out how to keep more pucks out of their net, the city’s 50-year wait for a Stanley Cup title might just come to an end next spring.