Lightning changes give Leafs fans hope this is their year

The Tampa Bay Lightning remain an Eastern Conference powerhouse but the Stanley Cup champions of 2020 and 2021 have made some changes to their roster since beating the Maple Leafs in last year's first-round matchup, giving Toronto fans hope that their team can do what it hasn't done since 2004, win a playoff series.

Video Transcript

- Now, as far as what Tampa is doing, this is where things get really interesting because it seems like they're doing what we used to do last year. They're loading up that top line. It's Kucherov, Point, and Stamkos. Now, no disrespect to Anthony Cirelli, but, like, they're going all in on that top line, and then kind of leaving everything else to kind of figure itself out, which makes sense, given the changes that they've had.

Yes, Alex Killorn is still there, and Patrick Maroon is still there, and Corey Perry is still there, but Ondrej Palat isn't there, and Ondrej Palat was their go-to playoff person for a long time. On defense, Victor Hedman hasn't looked his best all season, and Ryan McDonagh isn't on the team at all.

Yes, they still have Sergachev, and they still have Erik Cernak, but if Hedman's not your best, and you don't have McDonagh, who was a key defensive person, then, OK, maybe there are some moments, there are some areas where the Leafs can kind of manipulate things. And now I'm talking about the positives, and now I'm getting more worried, a little more concerned, but I don't know. It's really weird.

Then I'll ask Leafs fans, like, how are you all feeling, and I think everyone kind of feels the same way as I do. People are scared, and nervous, and panicky, but at the same time, I think I'm also seeing more Leafs fans kind of bought into the idea that this might be the year that they do it. This might be the actual year where the Toronto Maple Leafs win a round.

Again, it's actually pretty poetic if it'd be this year. This May marks the 10-year anniversary of the first game-7 collapse, first. So it would be very, very-- I don't know-- heartfelt, very Hollywood, very movie-esque, Disney Channel magic if this was the year where they ended up doing it. Again, considering the fact that that's been the focus the entire season, and the players know it, and, media, they've been talking about it all the time. They've been waiting for this moment.