Forwards Alex Steen, left, and Matt Stajan are expected to play bigger roles for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. (Doug Benc/Getty Images)

If fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs were searching for a rallying cry for the 2007-08 NHL season, they didn't have to wait long to get one from coach Paul Maurice.

"We'll make the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup," Maurice declared early in training camp.

Maurice's expectations for a team that missed last year's playoffs by one point in a season decimated by injuries might not be that bold. Toronto general manager John Ferguson, whose contract expires at season's end, also reinforced that prediction by acquiring players aimed at helping the team compete in the present tense.

No move signaled that "win now" approach more than the decision to re-sign captain Mats Sundin to a one-year deal worth $5.5 million US. Ferguson also dipped into the free-agent market to sign Jason Blake and swung a trade with San Jose to get forward Mark Bell and goaltender Vesa Toskala.

Those moves aside, Maple Leafs management will be counting on the development of a stable of younger talent in hopes of returning to the post-season for the first time since 2004.

But the Leafs' youth movement was dealt a blow in the pre-season when centre Kyle Wellwood required groin surgery. He missed more than one-third of the 2006-07 campaign with a sports hernia injury.

At the time of Wellwood's injury a year ago, the creative pivot was producing at near a point-per-game pace. He was also a regular on a Leafs power play that was fifth-best in the league before the all-star break before dropping to 22nd with Wellwood sidelined.

Besides the loss of Wellwood, a 15-game suspension to Bell has created a hole in Toronto's offence. The gritty left-winger's banishment will start after Bell is reinstated by the doctors who administer his care under the joint Substance Abuse and Behavioural Health program.

The six-year NHLer pleaded no contest on Aug. 15 to drunk driving and hit-and-run charges stemming from an incident on Sept. 1, 2006, when he was a member of the Sharks.

A flock of young forwards will try to fill the void.

Steen spends time on top line

Alex Steen appears to have benefited the most, getting pre-season looks on Toronto's top forward line with Sundin and Blake. He is one of the top candidates to get a crack at centring the team's depleted second unit.

"It's been two or three years since I played centre but I've played half a game here and half a game there," said Steen, who was singled out prior to training camp for his fitness level. "I feel comfortable at all positions wing or centre, so whatever they want from me, is fine by me."

Shifting roles for Steen has also meant adjusting to new demands as a top-six forward, including increased work on his faceoff and power-play skills.

"I've been jumping in and out of the faceoff circle occasionally the past couple of seasons but it's different when you're there all the time. So it's something I've got to work on in case I have that role."

"We're just working on moving the puck a little quicker, finding each other as well, getting to know each other and even mixing it up so if during the season we need to throw in three guys, everbody knows what to do," Steen said.

One player that has enjoyed success on a line with Steen in the past is Matt Stajan, who saw a 12-point jump in production (10 goals, 29 assists) in 2006-07, his third full season with the Leafs. But like his former linemate, Stajan didn't rest on his laurels during his time off.

"[Strength and conditioning coach] Matt Nichol put a good workout together for me to follow all summer," Stajan told CBCSports.ca. "I didn't want to put on weight but I wanted to get stronger, so after you do those things you're going to be quicker and more powerful."

Stajan also recognizes that while the door has opened up for him to make strides individually, Toronto's younger players collectively have to make an impact on the scoresheet.

Steen's increased workload includes faceoff and power-play duties. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

"Everybody's got to come in and be that much better and I know everybody trained that much harder this summer, knowing that we're going to be the guys counted on," admitted Stajan. "We know what Mats and Jason and Tucks [Darcy Tucker] are going to do.

"It's up to the second-tier guys, the young guys coming up to bring that secondary scoring and if we can do that, we're going to be a successful hockey team."

Pohl helps in many ways

For checking centre John Pohl, it could mean continuing to provide a spark while anchoring an energy line, but also contributing offensively.

Pohl, 28, might be the elder statesman of Toronto's less experienced players, but he has shown all the signs of being a late bloomer.

After a midseason seven-game audition in 2005-06 saw him chip in three goals and an assist, Pohl posted 29 points in 74 games a year ago.

"I paid attention to my hands [in the off-season]," he said, "because my skating's pretty strong but I've got to get my hands up to par with my skating."

So far so good for Pohl, who led the team in pre-season scoring late in camp. But that success is just as much the result of looking over his shoulder as looking at potential openings ahead of him.

"I look at it like I don't have a spot solidified," explained Pohl. "I think that unless you're a Top 6 forward, you really have to work, not only to make the team but to get good ice time."

With an even younger group of forward prospects like Jiri Tlusty and Simon Gamache looking to impress the Maple Leafs' brass, that pressure is undoubtedly shared by many of his younger teammates.

When talk shifts to Maurice's post-season predictions, he's not concerned.

"He [Maurice] hasn't put pressure on us, we have pressure on ourselves," said Pohl. "As younger players, we definitely want to contribute more and help the team win more, but there's no more pressure than normal."

If the likes of Pohl, Steen, Stajan and a healthy Wellwood can add some scoring punch up front for Toronto, it could prove to be the difference for a team that finished just three points out of sixth place in the Eastern Conference last season.