from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

“Vegas has them as the favorite to win the Cup, I believe? And rightfully so,’’ said one rival Eastern Conference executive.

“I don’t necessarily agree with that,” countered another rival Eastern Conference exec when asked about the Leafs being the team to beat.

“I mean, they’re good, but they’ve also lost some guys,” he added. “They lost JVR (James van Riemsdyk), they lost (Leo) Komarov, guys that were good players for them. I know Tavares is good and they’ve got three good centres, but as a team they’re unproven, I would consider them a very good team but I wouldn’t put them at No. 1 to start the season, by any stretch.’’

It was quite a vast difference of opinion from the hockey people I heard from, which is why this season is going to be so damn interesting in Toronto.

“Everyone in Toronto thinks they will get the Cup so there’s that pressure,’’ said a Western Conference head coach. “They may have the three best centres in the league, but the same defence. And (Mike) Babcock must make them all buy in about ice time because Tavares won’t be getting 21 minutes a game.’’

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