Editor In Leaf
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Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Three Positives, One Negative

By Tim Chiasson

Oct 22, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) and teammates celebrate his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) and teammates celebrate his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 7, 2016; Hamilton, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock (right) talks to his players during a break in the action against the Detroit Red Wings in a preseason hockey game at First Ontario Centre. Detroit defeated Toronto 2-1. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 7, 2016; Hamilton, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock (right) talks to his players during a break in the action against the Detroit Red Wings in a preseason hockey game at First Ontario Centre. Detroit defeated Toronto 2-1. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Tim Chiasson

Positives

A quick start for Auston Matthews

Although we all would have accepted whatever start Matthews gave us, it sure is nice to not have to deal with the trolls saying Matthews is a bust.

Matthews hot start has been incredible to watch and something Leafs fans have needed for a very long time. It’s easily the most positive thing for this team so far.

William Nylander’s chemistry with Auston Matthews

It’s not easy to play with superstars, just look at how many wingers Sidney Crosby has gone through over the years.

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William Nylander is a potential star in the NHL and having great chemistry with Auston Matthews is going to get him there faster than we could have imagined.

There was no guarantee that this combination would work, but it’s a pleasant surprise to see that it looks like there’s a permanent winger for Matthews for the next ten years.

Special teams is playing much better

The special teams units are playing much better than last year – most notably the power play – even though there are still tonnes of hockey left to play on the year.

The Leafs are 5th in PP% prior to October 24th’s games and 12th in the penalty kill. Compare that to a 29th place rank in PP last season and a 13th rank (~7% lower) for the penalty kill.

What the Leafs are doing is working, so here’s hoping they can keep up the good work +/- a skater.

Negative

Mike Babcock’s deployment

Babcock might be the best coach in hockey, but that doesn’t make him immune from criticism.

He has questionably deployed personnel all season, most notably Jake Gardiner and his average TOI being only higher than Hunwick on defense. Gardiner isn’t as bad as people want him to be, he’s actually quite good if you break away from the anti-Gardiner movement.

That poor deployment list also included Connor Brown until Milan Michalek was placed on waivers, too. Players need to play in their expected roles, not whither away with the riff-raff.

Next: Smith claimed off waivers, Michalek sent to Marlies

I get the showcasing players theory, I really do, but play your best players. There’s no need to showcase Matt Hunwick. He’s not an NHL player anymore. There’s no need to play Auston Matthews 17 minutes a game. He played pro last year and he hasn’t looked out of place at all in the NHL.

Superstars play big minutes. Matthews is a superstar.

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