For the Toronto Maple Leafs, the season is here, and there is nowhere to hide

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The Maple Leafs begin their annual quest – not to win the Stanley Cup but a playoff series – on Wednesday with an engagement in Montreal against the Canadiens.

It is nearly seven months until the postseason and there will be many high notes and certainly some low ones between now and then for every team, not just Toronto.

The thing that makes the Maple Leafs different is that their season will be seen as a failure unless they survive for a couple of rounds. Very few organizations in the NHL have such a steep mountain to climb for 2022-23 to be considered a success.

Nobody in a royal-blue-and-white sweater needs to be reminded of that. In this case, the elephant can’t even fit into the room any more.

Toronto looked sharp during preseason but after a likely lark at the Bell Centre things get more difficult quickly when the Washington Capitals pay a visit to Scotiabank Arena on Thursday for the home opener.

It is fair to say this club appears deeper than the past few seasons and that depth will undoubtedly be called upon with the travails of an 82-game regular season. Perhaps Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov will turn into the team’s strongest goalie tandem in memory. Perhaps Auston Matthews will score 60 goals again and Mitch Marner will reach 100 points for the first time.

Perhaps not. Those are the surprises – good and bad – that await everyone in the league and make the sport equally fascinating and disconcerting for fans.

If Toronto is feeling any major jitters it didn’t let on after its final practice on Tuesday before the real games begin.

“It’s an exciting time of the year,” Matthews said. He did not want to delve deeply into the past. “Our goal is to put ourselves in a good position for the playoffs.”

Morgan Rielly is beginning his 10th year and has still never been on the winning side in the playoffs. Toronto’s drought – now at 18 years – is the longest and most painful in the NHL.

The 28-year-old defenceman is always thoughtful and pragmatic, so it would be out of character for him to hang himself too far out there on the eve of Day 1.

“We have aspirations for this group,” Rielly said before the flight to La Belle Province. “Our goal is to be the best team we can be. We are all looking forward to get going.”

The captain, John Tavares, has had limited success in the postseason, once winning a round while with the Islanders. He looked fit for a second straight day in a row and will be in the lineup when the puck drops in Montreal.

“Tomorrow looks good and I am excited about that,” Tavares said. The 32-year-old returned from an on oblique strain faster than anticipated. “Butterflies never change no matter how long you go through [opening days].”

Murray, obtained from Ottawa during the off-season, will start against the Canadiens. Samsonov will get the nod one night later against Washington

“It means a lot to me to get the first start,” Murray, who had a .969 save percentage during practice games, said. “I feel a lot of excitement to get started for real. We have been building toward this moment for a long time.”

Murray, 28, is as skinny as a scarecrow but won two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh. He has struggled, however, in recent years.

“I am just trying to focus on building my game one day at a time,” he said. “I try to put my best foot forward every time I am on the ice.”

It is clear that the Maple Leafs are cautious. They have a sense of history and make no bold predictions that could come back to bite them. Let’s put it this way – if they get off to a great start they won’t start to celebrate in the fourth inning.

There are some interesting new players; forwards Calle Jarnkrok, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Denis Malgin especially.

“It is the start of an 82-game grind,” Sheldon Keefe, the head coach, said. “If you look at it that way, it can be daunting. You have to stay where your feet are.”

The season is here, and there is nowhere to hide.