I don't mean to sound negative here, but I think too much of the Leafs' press over the past few years has been a little too flattering of management.
Nylander was a pick of Nonis, as was Johnsson. They had practically nothing to do with Johnsson's development, as he spent most of his development years over in Sweden.
In 2015, they picked Marner, and that looks to be a great pick, but he was ranked to go there. Dermott looks promising, but again, he was picked 34th overall, so it's not like they were reaching there either. Other than that, not much there from 2015.
In 2016, they won the lottery, so... Kadri re-signed and blew the doors of his previous numbers. I'll hand some credit to the coaching staff there. But you had a 7th overall pick in Nylander getting into the lineup along with a 4th overall pick, and a first overall pick. They managed to get into the playoffs, but were out in the first round.
The 2017-18 season had mostly carry-overs in terms of productive players, but they also added UFA Marleau. No members of the 2017 draft, save maybe Liljegren, really appreciated in value over the past season. They had a stronger regular season, but were disposed of in the first round, again.
So I'm not really sure how Hunter left the Leafs on the verge of a Stanley Cup, or who the pivotal players on the roster that we should attribute to his expertise are and should be so thankful to watch.