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Toronto Maple Leafs: Ten Point Week In Review

By Tim Chiasson

Feb 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Rangers left wing J.T. Miller (10) scores the tying goal in the third period beating Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen (31) at Air Canada Centre. The Rangers beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Rangers left wing J.T. Miller (10) scores the tying goal in the third period beating Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen (31) at Air Canada Centre. The Rangers beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs went 2-1-1 in their last four games in another rollercoaster week in Leafs Nation.

Here is this week’s ten point week in review for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

1) Matthews v. Laine II was great. The #2 pick scored two goals and the #1 pick set three up in a 5-4 OT win for the Leafs. Does it get any better than a win with a bunch of scoring? I don’t think so. For those of you who want the league to refrain from making these two the next Crosby/Ovechkin rivalry: stop. Just stop. It’s happening and it’s great for the game. Without Sid and Ovi the NHL would have been dreadfully boring over the past decade.

2) Who was the leading scorer for the past four games? Jake Gardiner. Yeah, that’s right. The Leafs best defender that everyone hates because they pay attention to his turnovers and not Morgan Rielly’s. Two goals and four assists for Gardiner this week as he continued his dominance from the back end in creating chances.

3) Five mulitple goal scorers in the week for Toronto. Connor Brown had three while Kadri, Nylander, Gardiner and Komarov had two a piece. Not a lot of diversity in scoring this week. Toronto could have up to six 20 goal scorers this year. Three of them are in the multi-goal group from the week. Impressive considering they had one (Parenteau) last season.

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4) Nazem Kadri’s three points this past week brings him to 47 on the season. That’s three back of tying a career high. I read an article somewhere earlier in the week talking about Kadri finally being good. Newsflash: he’s been good for a while.

The shift in management took the undeserved heat off of Kadri and people magically started to appreciate him. Don’t be that fan that dislikes a player because it’s the cool thing to do on Twitter. Kadri is like Gardiner. People think he’s bad because that’s the popular thing, until someone in the organization says he’s good. Bam. Magic. He’s good.

5) More trades this week as teams start to open the floodgates on the deadline. Patrick Eaves, who is as solid of a rental as you can get, fetched a 2nd (1st if the Ducks make the Finals). That is insane for a rental. Imagine, in this market, what JVR could fetch. I want to make the playoffs and I love JVR’s contract, but think of the bounty Toronto could have right now for him. The team will still score without him. Marner drives that line anyway.

6) Tomas Jurco fetched a third round pick for Detroit. Jurco is not a great player. This year he’s awful and last year he wasn’t that great either. If that’s the going rate for currently bad, maybe good sometime, players then Toronto needs to grab a hold of some Marlies who don’t fit the future and turn them into assets. On a side note, anyone still believe Polak can’t fetch a third this year if they deal him?

7) Darren Dreger said that the Leafs remain in the mix for Kevin Shattenkirk, but the price is high. The price will be insanely high in this market, and so will the new contract he gets but won’t live up to. Get out. Get out now.

8) Alexey Marchenko made his Leafs debut against the Rangers. How did he do? Great. That’s how he did. Despite playing just over 13 minutes, Marchenko proved what the consensus should have been anyway: he deserves to play over Polak. He was the Leafs best defender from a possession standpoint, blocked four shots and played a steady game. It’s sad that it takes injuries to force Babcock to play his best players.

9) Toronto is still hanging on to a playoff spot. The Leafs have the 3rd spot in the Atlantic with 68 points in 60 games. The Islanders have the 2nd wildcard with 68 in 60, the Bruins are one spot out with 68 in 61 and the Panthers are two spots out with 66 in 60.

This team is competitive and will be fighting until the end of the season. A win against Montreal tonight and Toronto is two points back of the division with a game in hand. Let that soak in. It’s March on Wednesday and we were dead last in 2015-2016.

10) What if I told you that the Leafs are playing better hockey, in general, than the top two teams in the Western Conference? Crazy right? Not so much. That’s your homework for the week – take a look at the Hawks and Wild from all angles. Toronto’s better.

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