With their respective depth and youthful talent, there';s not much doubt that
one day the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs will meet in a Stanley Cup
Final. They are definitely Canada';s best hope to end the 25-year Stanley Cup
drought.

National unity won';t be high on the mind of either team or fanbase, however.
When they meet in the Stanley Cup final, neither team will be satisfied with
second place. So who wins?

If that question came up before July 1, the answer would';ve been more
straightforward. Pre-John Tavares, the Jets had a definite edge over the Leafs.
 Maybe they still do, but the addition of Tavares gives the Leafs yet another
of the game';s premier forwards.

It';s difficult to say based on their recent history. The Maple Leafs
wallpapered the Jets in an embarrassing home-opening debacle last year for
Winnipeg. The Jets then beat the Leafs on home ice later in the season by a
modest 3-1 score.

At the time, Winnipeg seemed like the better team according to many observers.
Things have changed, however. Losing Paul Stastny for the Jets and adding
Tavares for the Leafs has thrown a new wrinkle into the equation.

So, piece by piece, position by position, we';re going to break down a rivalry
that, because of geographical barriers, is only a rivalry when they meet in the
 playoffs. The Jets and Maple Leafs are unquestionably the class of Canada, but
 which team is best?Leafs Earn Slight Edge at Forward

A month ago, this was a closer battle. In fact, it may have still gone to the
Jets at that point. It';s amazing what signing the most desirable free agent of
 the last ten years will do.

This is still a close battle in many ways. The Maple Leafs don';t have anyone
on their roster quite like Jets captain Blake Wheeler. Wheeler posted 91 points
 last year in the best offensive season in Jets 2.0 history and boasts a 6';5
power forward';s frame.

Wheeler';s lethal mix of size and speed has made him one of the league';s top
right wingers. In fact, in the last five years, only Patrick Kane has more
points than Wheeler at that position.Blake Wheeler can outmuscle opponents or
blow by them with pure speed as one of the game';s top right wingers. (Photo by
 John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Jets have some excellent pieces up front beside the captain. Mark Scheifele
 is a bonafide number-one center who';s been at the point-per-game mark the
last two years. Patrik Laine is coming off the second-highest goal total in the
 league. Only Alexander Ovechkin has outscored him since he came into the NHL.

We could be here all day comparing the depth of the two teams up front. But
while the Leafs have lost some depth pieces like James van Riemsdyk and Tyler
Bozak, the Jets have lost Stastny too. And the one-two punch the Leafs now
boast at center may be the NHL';s new best.

Tavares played all 82 games last year and posted 84 points. Both he and
Matthews were over a point per game. Only two teams in the NHL had two centers
over that number last year, and Tavares played for one of them.

This is how Babcock currently envisions his top two lines:

Marleau-Matthews-Nylander
Hyman-Tavares-Marner

- Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 1, 2018

On the wing, the Jets match up favorably with almost any team in the league.
They do so at center as well. The Leafs are now the exception. Nazem Kadri, who
 posted 32 goals last year, could end up being the team';s third line center.

At forward, centers are the pieces teams build around, and for good reason.
While Laine, Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor among others, give the
Jets the edge on the wings, up the middle, no one touches Toronto right now
unless it';s Pittsburgh.

This one is tight, but based on their center depth, the edge goes to the Maple
Leafs.Jets Own the Defense

Even Maple Leafs observers and fans will tell you their defense is a
comparative weakness, though nowhere near as much so as it once was.
Nevertheless, this was probably the easiest position of the three to decide.

Winnipeg';s argument for the edge on defense could begin and end with Dustin
Byfuglien. There is simply no one else like him in the entire NHL. He is a man
apart.

It';s a mark of how good Byfuglien is that his 45 points in 69 games this year
represented a down year. And as we saw in the playoffs, his game goes far
beyond the points.When Dustin Byfuglien decides to play nasty, there is no more
 intimidating player in all of hockey. (Photo: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports)

Leaving Byfuglien aside for the moment, both teams defense cores revolve around
 two young, able puck movers. Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey for the Jets, and
 Morgan Reilly and Jake Gardiner for the Leafs.

In an impressive offensive display, both Gardiner and Reilly broke the 50 point
 barrier in 2017-18. Yet both players have defensive lapses and can be too
adventurous in their own zone.

Trouba and Morrissey may never break 50 points, but both are more mature
players. Defense, after all, is not just about putting pucks in your
opponent';s net. Trouba and Morrissey are adept and keeping pucks out of their
own, and frequently draw the top lines of the opposing teams.

Once you get past that, the Leafs depth on defense dries right up. Meanwhile,
the Jets third pairing as of this writing is Tyler Myers and Dmitry Kulikov.
Myers would have tied Reilly for the lead in goals by a defenseman for the
Leafs last year.Morgan Reilly is turning into a stud for the Toronto Maple
Leafs, but he';s not getting much help on the back end. (Photo: Amy Irvin / The
 Hockey Writers)

The Leafs have some players coming up the pipeline, but here too the Jets have
an edge as reigning AHL defenseman of the year Sami Niku beats out anyone in
the Leafs system. Winnipeg takes the defense, as they would against most
teams.Goaltending Anyone';s Guess

Goaltending is often the sword by which teams live and die, and last year, the
Jets starting goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was superior to Leafs starter
Frederik Andersen. Andersen posted a somewhat underwhelming 2.81 GAA and a
sturdy .918 save percentage, both of which pale next to Hellebuyck';s numbers.

It';s not that simple, however. Andersen';s numbers were strikingly similar to
those he posted in 2016-17, meaning he at least can lay claim to consistency.
Hellebuyck has only the one outstanding NHL season to trade on.

The other wrinkle is the backup situation. What if, for whatever reason, either
 team needs to dig a little deeper into their well of goalies? The Jets lost
both their regular backups from last year in Michael Hutchinson and Steve
Mason.Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck was outstanding last year, but it';s not
yet known whether he can consistently put up those numbers. (Photo: Neville E.
Guard-USA TODAY Sports)

Right now, the Jets backup looks like one of Eric Comrie or Laurent Brossoit.
For what it';s worth, Hellebuyck and Brossoit know each other and Hellebuyck
is reportedly a fan, but Brossoit has all of 28 NHL games to his name, all with
 the Edmonton Oilers.

As for Comrie, he';s played only four NHL games and hasn';t exactly covered
himself in glory. He did have his best season as a pro in Manitoba, but he';s
untested.

Toronto';s backup options are more experienced. They have no shortage of
candidates between the pipes, the leader of which has to be Curtis McElhinney
after an out-of-nowhere run at age 34. He posted a career-best .934 save
percentage in 18 games.

So goaltending is very much up in the air. Is Hellebuyck a Vezina finalist year
 in and year out, or is he the goalie the Jets grew frustrated with in 2016-17?
 The answer to that question determines who wins this category.

As for who wins overall, it';s anyone';s guess frankly. Your own answer will
likely depend on whether you subscribe to the "defense wins championships"
theory or the idea that ultra-talented forward cores can overcome the lack of a
 true number one on the back end.

Who knows which of the two teams would win in a seven-game series. Frankly, it
would be fantastic just to find out.

The post Jets vs. Maple Leafs: Class of Canada appeared first on The Hockey
Writers.

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