When expectations are high, any amount of success is sometimes overlooked. Toronto Maple Leafs may have taken the New Jersey Devils to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, but they didn't win the Stanley Cup. And though they haven't won the Cup since 1967 and weren't a favorite to emerge from the East, Cup titles is the ruler by which success is measured in Toronto.

	2000-01 by the numbers
	Record: 37-29-11-5, 90 points (T14 overall, 7th East, 3rd Northeast) Man-games lost to injury: 112 (26th) Goals for: 232/2.83 (14th) Goals against: 207/2.52 (T10th) Differential: 25 (T9 overall) 20-goal scorers: Gary Roberts (29), Mats Sundin (28), Yanic Perreault (24), Jonas Hoglund (23), Sergei Berezin (22) 50-point scorers: Sundin (74), Roberts (53), Perreault (52), Berezin (50)

So many elements were in place for Toronto in 2000-01. The Maple Leafs added grit and depth with Gary Roberts and Shayne Corson. Goalie Curtis Joseph was at the top of his game, despite a fractured right thumb in the playoffs. Captain Mats Sundin quelled the critics with the best playoffs of his career -- six goals and 13 points. But in the end, the Devils were too good, and once again, Toronto couldn't move into the arena of the elite NHL teams.

Looking at next season
The Toronto Maple Leafs are all but exempt from the economic disparity that exists between Canada and the U.S. The league's fourth-largest city supports the Leafs so well that the Maple Leafs received authorization from their parent company to expand the budget for 2001-02. Winning is the goal, and to that end, the front office already made some bold offseason moves, including re-signing Sundin to a long-term and lucrative contract.

Gone from last season are Yanic Perreault, Sergei Berezin, Igor Korolev and Steve Thomas. But in return, the Maple Leafs acquired Robert Reichel, Mikael Renberg, Alexander Mogilny and Travis Green. Reichel opted to play in his native Czech Republic the last two seasons rather than haggle for money with the Coyotes. In 1998-99, the 30-year-old center scored 26 goals and amassed 69 points. Reichel, who may need time to re-adjust to the North American game, isn't as strong on faceoffs as Perreault, but he is more consistent offensively. Renberg, who is good friends and Swedish national team teammates with Sundin, spent last season with Lulea of the Swedish Elite League and posted 54 points (22 goals, 32 assists) in 48 games. Mogilny brings 43 regular-season goals and Cup-winning experience from his time in New Jersey. Maple Leafs fans should remember Mogilny's two-goal, five-point night in Game 2 of last season's conference semifinals. Green is a solid, two-way center who has posted 20 goals three times in his career.

The acquisitions leave Toronto extremely deep at center and right wing. With Gary Roberts and Jonas Hoglund as the only roster players at left wing, coach Pat Quinn will likely shuffle some players around, like moving Nik Antropov or Alyn McCauley over from center.

There are some question marks on defense. Promising youngster Danny Markov was shipped to Phoenix in the Reichel deal, but the Leafs added underachieving Anders Eriksson as a free agent. Eriksson is big (6-foot-3, 214 pounds) and skilled. He was a plus-21 with Detroit in '97-98 but hasn't played consistently in recent years and joins his fourth team in four seasons. If Aki Berg and Tomas Kaberle continue to improve, the blue line should be better, but it still lacks a star presence.

Assuming Joseph stays healthy, goaltending will remain the team's biggest strength. While Joseph had bailed out breakdowns consistently in the past, the Leafs would be wise to protect him better. He's one of the game's best goalies and is a good bet to be one of the top two for Team Canada during the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City next winter.

Mogilny, Reichel and Green will more than make up any lost offense from Perreault and Berezin's departure, and the hope is that if someone can play a solid left wing, the Maple Leafs should be able to get more production from their third and fourth lines. That eases the pressure on Sundin, while allowing the Maple Leafs to match up better with the Devils and Flyers atop the Eastern Conference -- and, perhaps, challenge for the Cup in 2001-02.

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com.