Ray Ferraro doesn't believe the Toronto Maple Leafs can hang with the division's heavyweights, and he said it Monday, one night before Montreal visits.
On the Ray & Dregs Hockey Podcast, he handed Toronto one compliment. Then he took most of it back.
"I don't see anyway they're not better," Ferraro said. "I don't think they're a contending team by any stretch."
And then came the list. Florida, Tampa, Buffalo, Montreal, four division rivals he isn't sure Toronto has enough to stick with.
Four names. Sixteen dates. Toronto sees each of those clubs four times on the regular-season schedule, so this won't stay a podcast debate for long.
The clip has Ferraro ticking off the rivals one after another, and the Leafs never make his cut.
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Montreal gets the first crack at Toronto on Tuesday night
The timing is brutal. The Canadiens roll into Toronto for Tuesday's opener after going 4-1-0 across their last five games.
Martin St-Louis's group did drop a 4-3 decision in Ottawa on Saturday. Toronto hasn't played since a 4-2 win in that same building last Wednesday.
The Leafs carry a two-game winning streak into puck drop. Nice, if you put much stock in September hockey.
Jim Hiller, hired in June, gets his first real verdict almost immediately. Montreal is the first team from that list Toronto sees, well before Buffalo shows up on October 15.
Here's where I land. Ferraro has it right, and it isn't close.
Toronto pays Auston Matthews $13,250,000 and William Nylander $11,500,000. That kind of money is supposed to buy more than better.
Being better than you were is a bit like bragging that your car passed inspection. Good news. Nobody's lining up to race it.
And the rest of the division isn't exactly pinching pennies. Rasmus Dahlin carries an $11,000,000 cap hit in Buffalo, while Aleksander Barkov sits at $10,000,000 in Florida.
Buffalo is the eyebrow-raiser on that list. The Sabres lost 3-1 to Pittsburgh on Saturday and are 1-2-1 over their last four.
Tampa Bay looks sharper. Jon Cooper's club went into Florida's building on Saturday and beat Paul Maurice's Panthers 3-2.
So where does that leave a Toronto team that's improved but, by Ferraro's read, still a step behind four of its neighbors?
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It leaves them with a top six that has to carry the load from night one. The bench can't wait on the blue line or special teams to sort themselves out in November.
Stumble against the Canadiens on Tuesday, and that list starts sounding like a forecast.
A win buys some quiet, but the Leafs still have 15 more dates against Florida, Tampa, Buffalo and Montreal to prove the other half of his take wrong.
Is Ray Ferraro right that the Maple Leafs can't keep up with Florida, Tampa, Buffalo and Montreal?
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