Toronto Maple Leafs: Top Five Things I Learned from 2016-17

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The Toronto Maple Leafs had a historic run this past season and will look to build off the momentum next year.

But, just because the Toronto Maple Leafs 2016-17 season has come to an end doesn’t mean we can’t still talk about the lessons learned.

We actually need to look at the lessons and discuss them because they’re worth noting.

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Yes, they did well.

Better than most expected.

And no it’s not over, it’s the very beginning.

So, it’s time to sit down and reflect on this past year’s successes, because there’s plenty of them, believe me.

I don’t know about you, but I learned a few things from the Leafs last campaign and I think it’s best if I lay them out here.

From the least to most important, here are the top five things I learned from this past season about the Leafs.

A point of reference, being number five isn’t bad. This isn’t the kind of list where being closer to number one makes that much of a difference. In the grand scheme of things, this is just a compiled list of the lessons I learned.

Just the Start

If you think this was a one and done type of season, you’re wrong. The Leafs team we watched this past season was built with longevity and a purpose of winning.

I’ve never watched any Leafs team with this much drive before. Granted, I’m only 21, but the fact of the matter is I’ve been a Leafs fan all of my life.

Surely at some point between my birth and this very day, I should have seen the team I grew up rooting for play with this much excitement, intensity, flair and passion.

I haven’t, until now.

And to think, this is only the start of something absolutely beautiful.

Mike Babcock is Good… Really Good

I’m not sure if a lot were questioning the legitimacy that Mike Babcock was the greatest hockey coach, not only in the NHL but in the whole world before this past season.

If you were, you definitely shouldn’t be anymore.

Babcock came to a losing team and turned them into winners. Yes, the players obviously impacted the team in a positive way. But, without the hands molding the clay, the clay would be formless.

Before he got his hands on this team, the idea coming into a game was that the Leafs were going to lose.

Now, it’s the total opposite as each player fully expects to win every night.

That’s spectacular.

Do you want some proof?

The Leafs finished dead last in 2015-16. One year later they gave the best team in the league of two years a run for their money in the first round of the playoffs.

And I know what you’re thinking because I thought about it too.

Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitchell Marner.

Again, without the proper guidance, these kids would have been kids.

I know there’s more to this team than just those three, but leave it be for the illustration.

And lastly, Babcock is one of the three finalists for the Jack Adams award in 2016-17.

There’s your proof.

The Veterans Are Still Here

With all the excitement of the rookies, a new goalie, prospects and the like, the veterans got a little overshadowed. Most people took their eyes off guys like James van Riemsdyk, Jake Gardiner, and Nazem Kadri to put their focus elsewhere.

Well, those guys put their focus on the team and winning.

Boy, did they have success in doing so.

Without the stellar performances of some of these men this season, the Leafs wouldn’t have made the playoffs. The rookies wouldn’t have been so successful.

The rookies wouldn’t have been so successful.

Take your pick, there’s lots more than just that, I promise.

The veterans provided the glue, to say the least, but that’s just one of many things they did to benefit the organization and themselves.

Number One Goalie Found

Let’s revisit the past.

Through Frederik Andersen’s first 10 games in 2016-17, he only had three save percentages above .900 and only two of those resulted in a win.

To say he had a turbulent start in Toronto would be an understatement.

But, he rebounded in the best way possible finishing the year with a 2.67 goals against average and a .918 save percentage in 66 games played.

Not bad.

After years of bad trades, test subjects failing, you name it, the Leafs have found their number one goaltender.

This guy can play and he can play well.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to see more consistency out of Andersen, but he will progress with time.

For now, he’s a really good fit.

The Rookies Are Ridiculous

Most points in a single season by a combined rookie effort with 310, beating the 1992-93 Winnipeg Jets record of 304.

Countless individual franchise and league records not only broken but smashed.

A Calder Trophy nominee in Matthews for his team-leading 40 goals and 69 points, also leading all NHL rookies in the goals and points department.

Three winners and four Rookie of the Month awards from the season.

Can I say more good things about these kids?

They aren’t the Leafs future. They’re the now and one of the big wheels in why this team is where they are today.

They’re the best rookie core on a team in the NHL’s history, you can’t argue with facts.

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