For the last 17 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 18th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer…er, winter. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

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Gone – Cody Ceci, Kyle Clifford, Andreas Johnsson, Tyson Barrie, Pontus Aberg, Kasperi Kapanen, Frederik Gauthier

Incoming – Michael Hutchinson, Joe Thornton, Aaron Dell, Jimmy Vesey, Zach Bogosian, Joey Anderson, Travis Boyd, TJ Brodie, Wayne Simmonds, Mikko Lehtonen, Alexander Barabanov

Impact of changes – Lots to unpack here. The Leafs held onto their elite forwards and managed to stay under the cap, in no small part to veteran players who were former Toronto natives giving them a hometown discount (Thornton and Jason Spezza each signing for the minimum, Simmonds and Brodie signing for below market value). The organization needed more size, toughness, and a defensive upgrade on the blueline. The accomplished the latter by adding Brodie, who is an excellent top-four rearguard, and Bogosian who is about as good a No.7 defenseman as you can get, and still pretty good as No.6 – with upside for even better (he's still only 30).

Up front, the team added incredible experience in Thornton, good size in Vesey, and toughness in Simmonds. But at what price? The Leafs lost a lot of speed in Kapanen and really good skill in Johnsson. Toronto had an added edge over teams when they were able to trot out Alex Kerfoot and Kapanen – who each boast speed that most players in the league would be hard-pressed to match. Now that added edge has been cut in half. And the players added at forward are not exactly known for footspeed. In the end, will that be a good tradeoff? We'll find out next summer. But from a fantasy standpoint, the Leafs will focus their offense on the first two lines

On defense, don't forget that Morgan Rielly was a 72-point player before Barrie arrived. Then Rielly's situation changed and his production plunged. Now Barrie is gone again and Rielly has help on the defensive side of things. That should free him up offensively again and a return to the 2018-19 greatness looks promising.

Ready for full-time – Lehtonen is a skilled defenseman from out of Finland. He was highly sought after by several NHL teams, but the Leafs landed him in part because of their tremendous need on the blue line. But with these offseason signings, it would appear that Lehtonen was sold a bill of goods. Suddenly, the 26-year-old will have to fight hard just to sneak onto the roster as a No.6 or No.7 guy, and even that much is not a certainty. In the KHL last season, Lehtonen tallied 49 points in 60 contests. That's a tough league to pick up points, so potentially he could be the second-best offensive option on the team. But we won't find this out if he's buried on the bottom pairing, the press box, or the AHL. Still, he's one to watch and if injuries strike some key guys we may get to see what he can do.

Barabanov is a prototypical third-liner who injects energy into every shift and adds a deft scoring touch. But he, too, can be sent to the minors without having to clear waivers and given the depth of the Leafs with all of these signings – that just might happen. I have him as the No.12 guy and getting a regular shift, flirting with 30 points, 60 Hits and 30 PIM.

Nicholas Robertson is a top offensive prospect who has absolutely nothing left to prove at the junior level. Third in the OHL in points-per-game average with 86 points in 46 games, he also added a league-leading 55 goals for Peterborough. Robertson got into the Toronto lineup in the playoffs and showed that he was NHL-ready. But he can be sent down without clearing waivers and, as already noted above, the Leafs will probably do just that. Extra development can never be a bad thing, though one wonders what kind of development he can expect when most of the players around him are inferior by such a wide margin.

Pierre Engvall was a Leafs' regular toward the end of last season and his presence was always felt whenever he stepped onto the ice. At 6-4 he adds nice size and a pretty good scoring touch to the third line. Unfortunately, there is no room for him on the third line. Or the fourth line. Or the press box. He, too, can be sent to the minors without having to clear waivers and to ease the logjam that is probably what the Leafs will do early on. He won't be held down for long and I have him still playing half the season with the big club.

Joey Anderson was the return that the Leafs got in the Andreas Johnsson deal. He is another prototypical third-liner who can provide energy and some scoring as a checker. He will also spend time with the Marlies this year, likely two-thirds or more of the season.

Had the Leafs not signed Vesey, Boyd and Thornton they would almost certainly have Robertson and Engvall in the regular lineup, with Barabanov getting more minutes too.

Toronto Maple Leafs prospect depth chart and fantasy upsides can be found here

Fantasy Outlook – Once again the Leafs were an offensive force, which is a fantasy owner's dream, finishing third in league scoring when they bulged the twine at a 3.4 per-game clip. Any winger with talent landing on this team gains immediate value at the prospect of lining up with two of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander. And defensemen who can move the puck acquired by the Leafs gains value in the possibility of partnering with Morgan Rielly. The goaltending is solid with Frederik Andersen between the pipes, and the prospect pipeline still has plenty of intriguing players with fantasy upside. Other than the Lightning, there really isn't a team that, from a fantasy standpoint, offers this many good players.

Fantasy Grade: A+ (last year was A+)

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