Bruce Boudreau shares who he believed to have had the best off-season

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Cooper Godin
August 8, 2024 (8:43 PM)

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Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau shares which Atlantic Division team has had the best off-season so far.

On the NHL Network on Wednesday night, host Tony Luftman and former Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau were discussing the off-season for teams in the Atlantic Division and what things could look like for the 2024-25 season.

Boudreau was asked for his opinion on which Atlantic Division team he thought has had the best off-season so far and he said the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"I'm not just saying this because I'm from Toronto, but I really like what they did with their defence. The three acquisitions they made to bolster their defence, especially when you get Tanev. I had Ekman-Larsson, when he's at his best he's still a really good defenceman." Boudreau said.

He added, "All of these guys, these guys are really good players and Toronto's already got the offence that they can go, they can get the defence now to go with it. I really believe that they can make it past that first round and go a little bit further."

Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving went into the off-season wanting to upgrade his defensive group and was able to do so by bringing in a pair of Vancouver Canucks - Chris Tanev & Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who can provide some stability on the backend and aren't easy to play against.

In the Matthews, Marner and Nylander era, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had a hard time trying to find success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, winning only one playoff round, which came in 2023 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. With a new head coach behind the bench next season in Craig Berube, who led the St. Louis Blues to a Stanley Cup in 2019, the Maple Leafs are hoping that they'll be able to start enjoying some playoff success.