LeafsParadise.com

Citing a weak cast down the middle and question marks between the pipes, The Hockey News is predicting another long season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Hockey News is predicting the Maple Leafs will finish 12th overall in the Eastern Conference. When you reflect on how many teams in the East have made considerable improvements and the fact that the Maple Leafs will likely enter the 2012-13 season with a near carbon copy of the lineup that finished in the bottom five of the league last season, it is hard to argue with their findings. Everyone knows the Maple Leafs struggles down the middle, and while the addition of James van Riemsdyk to the top-six should help the team, the jury is still out on his ability to make the move from wing to centre—a scenario which has been discussed by management. Toronto Maple Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke still has plenty of cap space with which to make an acquisition or two, but with no top-end talent left on the free agent marke...