Toronto Maple Leafs' Depth Chart Reveals Surprising Weakness

The offseason had not been entirely kind to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After what was a lot of talk, the Leafs came away with little in terms of success in the free agent market, which the team has signaled was intentional after the first day of free agency, but the quickly drained market led to it being clear Toronto wasn't going to solve their hole in free agency.

Overall, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a few questions that will define their season, and will need to be answered as soon as the start of the regular season.

Toronto's biggest role is still on the top-six. Replacing Marner was always going to leave somewhat of a hole regardless of who filled it, at least in terms of production.

The acquistion of Matias Maccelli, largely a reclamation project to return to the form of his past two seasons, will have the potential to succeed, but if things aren't able to rebound for Maccelli would make for a disappointment.

One area that has faced less discussion but is just as essential is the bottom-six. Toronto let Pontus Holmberg walk, and replaced his spot on the lineup with Nicolas Roy, who was acquired for Marner.

Roy has the potential to be a strong upgrade on Holmberg both at 3C and on the PK.

Toronto also added a physical presence in Dakota Joshua, with his offense allowing for Toronto to let go of a one-dimensional hitter in Ryan Reaves.

Defensively, Toronto's roster looks positionally strong, even if the roster is largely untouched. Toronto's main acquisition on defense, Henry Tnrun, will battle Simon Benoit on the left-side at third-pair for what will likely be the only open spot up for grabs.

More likely, Thrun will be battling with Phillippe Myers and Matt Benning for a chance to be the 7th defenseman on the Leafs.

Goaltending wise, Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll are the duo heading into the season, but Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov are in the wait, and if the pending UFA Stolarz struggles, it could move their timetable up.

Also prospect wise, Easton Cowan seems on the outside looking in, but will get his chances to prove himself. Jacob Quillan could get games on the fourth line if a player goes down with injury.

Toronto is structured heavily in a similar fashion to the top teams in the NHL, and are set up the same way as the teams who in recent years have found success in a roster makeup as Toronto's.

The Leafs cap room is focused primarily on their offensive group, with only the past two Stanley Cup winners, Vegas and Florida, spending more on forwards.

Unlike Florida, Toronto does not have a surefire #1 netminder the way the Panthers have Sergei Bobrovsky, and they don't have the same defensive depth, but similarly have some solid defensive defensemen, as well as a top-heavy offense with a newly rebuilt bottom-six that can play physical.

Although Toronto had failed to beat Florida in the playoffs last season, a big reason as to why was the loss of Stolarz to injury. With a healthy Stolarz, Toronto may be wanting to hedge their bets this is their year.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are built closely to mimic the recent success stories in the NHL, and Brad Treliving is hoping this will be something that works out in the team's favor.

If Florida and Vegas are anything to go by, relying on their top-six isn't always the worst strategy to gain the pathway to the cup, and in the case of Vegas, a superstar goalie doesn't have to be an essential.

The Leafs are hoping to prove that even after a major loss in Mitch Marner, what Toronto may lose out on in the regular season, they're built to make up for in the playoffs.