Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs open training camp under new coach Jim Hiller, and the questions are already stacking up.
Hiller was hired on June 17, and he inherits a team that finished last season 32-36-14, good for 78 points and 28th overall in the league.
Toronto closed the year on a seven-game losing streak. A minus-46 goal differential says plenty about why camp actually matters this time.
Matthews managed just 53 points last season, on 27 goals and 26 assists across 60 games, well off his usual pace.
He still carries a $13.25 million cap hit. Production has to catch back up to that price tag.
Watching his health all camp is starting to feel like checking a roof for leaks before every storm. You just wait for the next drip.
Sergei Bobrovsky posted a .876 save percentage in 52 appearances last season, a rough stretch at 37 years old.
Toronto's goaltending gamble looks shakier than the forward group
Handing a struggling 37-year-old the net in the country's least forgiving hockey market feels like a bet Toronto didn't need to take.
Anthony Stolarz wasn't much sharper behind him, managing a .893 save percentage over 26 appearances. Stability between the pipes is not guaranteed here.
Can Hiller fix a shaky crease and a leaky penalty kill in one training camp? That's the real test starting this month.
Morgan Rielly put up 36 points but finished at minus-18 across 78 games, numbers that will not cut it on Toronto's blue line.
Max Domi also finished with 36 points, but his minus-29 rating stands out for the wrong reasons on a $3.75 million cap hit.
Colton Sissons signed for a $2,857,142 cap hit and managed just 11 points over 66 games, but he's built to grind on the penalty kill.
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Hiller has his summer homework done on paper. Whether this roster actually answers by October is the only thing that matters now.
Should the Maple Leafs have upgraded the crease instead of trusting Sergei Bobrovsky again?
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