The Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice on their centennial season this fall. With it, the franchise's Stanley Cup drought will stretch into its 49th season.
But with a slew of young talent in the system and the No. 1 overall pick in their possession, it appears a proper road map is finally in place to bring Lord Stanley's Mug back to Toronto.
These three pairings can help make that happen:
William Nylander and Mitchell Marner
The Leafs' last first-round pick to tally 60 points while still in Toronto: Wendel Clark, way back in 1993-94. The Leafs' last first-round pick to net 30 goals with the Buds: also Clark, in 1996-97. Since then, players drafted in the first round by Toronto have put together more 30-goal seasons for the St. Louis Blues (3) than the Leafs (0).
Years of bad drafting, win-now trades, and poor grooming of top prospects left the team without much in the way of homegrown talent. An organizational commitment to re-stock cupboards that were once bare has filled the system with solid prospects. At the head of the class are Nylander and Marner, who will be tasked with being pillars of the team's developing core.
Mike Babcock and Brendan Shanahan
There's a decidedly different feel around the club this offseason than there's been under past regimes. Shanahan has the ship pointed in the right direction, and it won't be long before that reflects in the on-ice product.
Babcock's arrival has played a major role in the change in culture. The players' immediate buy-in to Babcock's system and philosophies offers great promise for a quick transition from a team that lost 53 of 82 games to one that ascends up the Atlantic Division standings.
Auston Matthews and Steven Stamkos
Despite all the positive strides, there's still work to be done in assembling a championship roster in Toronto. A bevy of draft picks and cap space in the years ahead offer the tools needed to build a team Babcock can mold into a champion.
The necessary injection of talent begins June 24 with the No. 1 overall selection in the entry draft. Matthews is the logical choice to stand at the head of Toronto's deep 2016 draft class. Supplementing that group with a prize free agent like Stamkos in the next year or two can help accelerate the rebuild.
