Not bad

The point was not to know IF MTL is a contender Bros... but yes this team is WAY better than now but I agree for the bottom 6 I felt than you need more body check and hits to increase the pressure against other team defense.

Contender for sure, which is the highest rating I'm willing to give any team since the playoffs are random as hell.

First, thank you for asking for my opinion.
Second, hard to lament the past.
As a Sabre fan, I wish we never hired DATM. He set the rebuild back by 4 to 5 years, when the team he built finished last in the Atlantic then last in the league.
Third, Zaitsev and Marleau were good signing that did not work out as well as expected.
Fourth, Tavares was definitely not the problem. He made Matt Moulson into an all star, he could get a chair to score 20 goals.

The plan was to win the cup in the next couple of years with Marleau providing the necessary leadership as a player who had been through the playoff battle many times.
The 2018-'19 team was awesome.
Four great centers, four awesome RW, above average LW, and undeniably a solid defense with Muzzin, Reilley, Gardiner and Zaitsev.
It just did not work out.
On paper that was a great team, it was built to win it that year, that had to be broken up for cap reasons the following year.
All Leaf fans should look back on that team and reflect, "Holy Cow That Was a Great Team."

Boston was not where near as deep as the Leafs. I only watched a few of the games as I was more of a Sabres fan, but a little luck in any of the 4 losses and it may have been their cup year.
GM's have to build for today, as their may not be a tomorrow.

Let me add, my Sabres team of 2005-'06 was the best in the NHL that year.
But injuries to 5 defensemen allowed the Canes to beat them and win the cup.
The following year, they won the Presidents cup and lost to Ottawa.
Briere and Drury left via free agency and the team has not been the same since then.
Bad things happen to good teams.
Bad things happened to your 2018-'19 Leafs but they were awesome.

Well that is my two cents.
I hope it is coherent.

stop tagging me pls

I like the D, putting the kids on the 3rd pairing is how you grow them. Like the L/R splits too.

The bottom six are still a big ? Can Koivu still play his D role a year later (he was still a positive player for MIN last season)? If not, I do not trust the bottom six to play in any tight games. I like Mik and Brown, but the rest of the bottom 6 could be a dumpster fire (if Koivu isn't at last year's level).

I think in this scenario TOR needs some cup winners in the bottom 6. Guys that have lifted a cup, maybe have multiple SCF visits. The skill at the top is great, but as we've seen multiple times, you need to learn how to win the cup, and skill can't overcome that.

In hindsight, the Leafs would be dumping Zaitsev for free but at the time, Bracco was one of their top forward prospects so it was quite a price.

Thanks for the feedback. I think the issue with Freddy during the 2 series vs Boston was that he got overwhelmed by the heavy workload and ended up giving soft goals. Columbus this year was a totally different scenario obviously. They definitely need him at their best to win in the playoffs.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree, the 2018-19 was really stacked on paper. During the first 3 months of the season, they were firing on all cylinders and were on pace for like 110 points. According to @palhal, after Nylander signed his contract the team was mediocre, I guess there was more pressure on all the players after another star player joined.

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I guess the bottom 6 can always improve but it's good enough for my liking because you have proven NHL level talent and they have an identity. All are really fast, forechecking and defensively reliable players.

Bracco’s value was at its peak during the 2019 offseason, when Zaitsev was traded, and he was not part of the package because Ottawa wanted Brown.

Yeah, there was no way that was ever an option