Five key questions for the Maple Leafs. Yes, Auston Matthews is one of them

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Toronto enters the season with the promise of a good team, one capable of a top-three finish in its division. But, naturally, the Maple Leafs are not without question marks. Here are five questions as they embark on the season:

When will Auston Matthews be ready?

Matthews underwent wrist surgery Aug. 13 and did not participate in any of the team’s six pre-season games. While Matthews looked impressive in training camp workouts — both on his own and when he rejoined the team — he is going to get at least the first couple of games to continue to heal. It might be a case of the Leafs and Matthews being cautious but it’s tough to argue the decision. Toronto needs the defending Rocket Richard Trophy winner to be excellent all season long, not just the first two games.

Is Nick Ritchie the right forward to play with Matthews and Mitch Marner?

Ritchie promises to be a big body with a mix of skating, tenacity, physical play and offence to complement the team’s top two players. But Ritchie has to be all those things; a first-line role will come with comparisons to Zach Hyman, now in Edmonton. Ritchie is bigger and a better skater than Hyman and should be a good fit. The Leafs could struggle if he isn’t, especially with Ilya Mikheyev, another possibility to play with Marner and Matthews, expected to miss eight weeks with a thumb injury.

Will two heads be better than one in the Leafs’ goal?

Jack Campbell and Petr Mrázek are being asked to replace the minutes Frederik Andersen gave the team in his first four seasons in Toronto. It’s not likely Andersen’s ghost will haunt either goalie — Cambell had taken over the starter’s role by the end of last season, due to Andersen’s injuries and ineffectiveness in his fifth season — but it remains to be seen if either Campbell or Mrázek can be a bona fide No. 1, especially come playoff time. Right now, it appears the two will share the load, with Campbell having the inside track to more playing time.

Can the Leafs take advantage of the man advantage again?

The Leafs had the best power play in the NHL into March, when they were scoring on 31.7 per cent of their chances. And then the goals dried up. The Leafs were 16th by the end of the regular season, then had the third-worst success rate of the 16 playoff teams, at 13.0 per cent. So there have been changes. The club hired assistant coach Spencer Carbery, a former AHL coach of the year, and he will work with Manny Malhotra on the power play. A year ago, the Leafs tried creating a low-post presence on its two units with players like Joe Thornton and Wayne Simmonds. They appear to be going with the all-star approach on the top unit this season and revising some of the responsibilities, including creating a bumper role for Marner that should allow him to create more opportunities.

Where will the secondary scoring come from?

Toronto GM Kyle Dubas signed a bunch of players to help fill out bottom-six roles this season and, hopefully, contribute some offence. There was a big drop-off last season after Marner and Matthews on the first line and John Tavares and William Nylander on the second. Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe was never entirely happy with the contributions of his third and fourth lines, and teams like Tampa Bay showed the importance of secondary scoring in the playoffs.

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