Craig Button has positive message for Maple Leafs

It wasn't long ago that TSN analyst Craig Button was ripping Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas for what he saw as a failure on the latter's part to put the players on the ice in the best position to win by acquiring additional reinforcements. 

"The team has performed at a high level and they've performed very well, and they've had the difference challenges with the injuries," Button explained in early February. "I've talked about Sandin and Liljegren, and finding out what they're capable of. But I don't think it's so much about what the team n needs to show me, it's about what Kyle Dubas needs to show the team. They've shown him everything they need to show him, in my view." 

But now, he's singing a different tune. Dubas swung multiple deals ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on March 3, bringing in the likes of former 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O'Reilly along with Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues, trading for former 2008 Leafs 1st round draft pick Luke Schenn, as well as adding Erik Gustafsson from Washington in exchange for Rasmus Sandin. And that's not all, as Dubas also picked up defenseman Jake McCabe and forward Sam Lafferty from the tanking Chicago Blackhawks. 

With the Leafs now on the verge of locking up home ice throughout the upcoming 1st round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Button is singing a different tune when it comes to evaluating Toront's chances.

"I think that the Leafs are built to adapt to different situations and to play different styles as the game dictates," Button said after Toronto's 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators last night. "And for that reason, I think they're in a much better position to win the first round. This is a Leafs team that I think is better built for the different challenges that a team faces come playoff time."

Is Button hitting it on the....button with this take that the current Leafs are better equipped to make it through a playoff series?