2. Is this the season Nicholas Robertson can establish himself in the NHL?
The Maple Leafs certainly hope so, but the 20-year-old forward first will have to stay healthy in order to do that.
Selected in the second round (No. 53) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Robertson led the Ontario Hockey League in goals with 55 for Peterborough in 2019-20. But then the injuries began. At the beginning of the 2020-21 season, he sustained a knee injury with Toronto of the American Hockey League that kept him out of the lineup for four weeks. In the second game of the 2021-22 AHL season, he sustained a non-displaced fracture of his right fibula and was out for almost four months.
He returned to average a point per game for the rest of AHL season, with 28 (16 goals, 12 assists) in 28 games. He's a natural goal scorer who has the potential to be a regular in the top six one day, but whether he can achieve that remains to be seen.
3. Can Timothy Liljegren continue his development into becoming a potential top-pair defenseman?
The 23-year-old had a breakout season in 2021-22 with NHL career highs in games played (65), goals (five), assists (18) and points (23), and took his game to another level in the final six weeks on a pair with veteran trade deadline acquisition Mark Giordano.
It was a welcome sight for the Maple Leafs, who selected Liljegren with the No. 17 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft and patiently waited for improvement. In the four seasons prior to last, he had one assist in 13 career NHL games and left management wanting more. Last season they finally got it, leaving Giordano, the 2019 Norris Trophy winner voted as the NHL's top defenseman, taken with Liljegren's learning curve.
"For a young guy he's got super poise with the puck and he makes really really good decisions out there," Giordano said. "You don't really get a sense of how complete his game is on TV. I thought he was really impressive. I was really impressed with his positioning and all the little plays he makes."
