Toronto Maple Leafs: March Monthly Content Roundup
The Toronto Maple Leafs sure had a busy March.
Clinching a playoff birth, breaking the 100 point plateau, and setting a new single-season record for wins in a season is just a few of the newsworthy events permeating Leafs Nation.
Thankfully, at Editor in Leaf, our wonderful staff have written a number of great pieces, covering just about everything that went down.
Here’s a roundup of a few you may have missed in March.
Enemy’s Insight
The Enemy’s Insight series continued full steam ahead. A Winning Habit’s Omar White and I lobbed questions at each other on a weekly basis, trying to understand just what the heck our teams were doing.
If you want to see Leafs questions asked from a Habs perspective answered, this is the series for you.
“Imagine you’re a professional athlete. All season you’ve worked your keester off, driving your team to the precipice of franchise history, with your playoff matchup now more or less set in stone. Are you really going to give it your all when facing a roster of Jack Eichel and 20 human-shaped pylons?”
Breaking Down the PP and PK
Lauren Kelly loves herself a graph.
As the most mathematically literate of the EIL staff, she took a deep dive into what fuels both the Leafs PP and PK, while illuminating some pretty interesting little tidbits.
If statistical analysis tickles your fancy, this is the piece for you.
“No one has benefitted from this unit more than Rielly. He has 19 points on the powerplay (18 assists) this season, miles away from his 5 measly points last season. However, it’s Marner who leads the Leafs in powerplay points this season. His 7 goals and 22 points on the man-advantage have surpassed his powerplay totals from last season (4 goals, 21 points).”
“Hainsey is averaging about four minutes on the penalty kill each game. He is usually on the ice for the entire two minutes of the penalty kill, unless there is a goal against. I’m concerned that the Leafs are overworking Hainsey shorthanded.”
Freddie Andersen is a Hart Candidate
Newcomer Carson Trask didn’t mince words in his debut piece. No, C-Dog spits a piping hot take, declaring Freddie Andersen as a Hart Trophy candidate.
Do you agree with him? If not, you may want to hear him out first.
“Since the Leafs traded for Frederik Andersen at the 2016 NHL draft, he has been everything they had hoped for and more. Anyone that remotely follows the NHL knows that the Leafs weakness is their defence and Andersen is the last line of it. According to the NHL’s official website Andersen has faced the most shots this season, has the most saves, has played the third most minutes, tied for first in games started and is fourth in shutouts with five.”
Remembering the Hyman Trade
Alex took a stroll down memory lane, outlining the outright robbery the Leafs performed to snag Zach Hyman from Florida.
I don’t know about you, but I love a good trade robbery story. If you’re anything like me, give it a read.
“Hyman was originally a 2010 fifth round pick of the Panthers but opted not to sign with them due to Hyman wanting an NHL job and Florida not being able to provide one.
So, the Leafs were essentially like ‘we just tore down our entire team. Let’s see what you’ve got’.”
The Leafs Need to Pay JVR Now or Regret It
James van Riemsdyk’s lava-hot March has made his impending UFA future far murkier than fans would like.
Our very own Josh Tessler is firmly in the “re-sign JVR” camp, and he illustrated why. Check it out.
“Without JVR, the Toronto Maple Leafs wouldn’t be the same. The power-play would be awful. Aside from JVR, only two other Toronto Maple Leafs have more than three goals on the power-play. With JVR on your side, you can park him right in front of an opposing goalie and know that he’ll deflect shots in.”
Next: Enemy's Insight - Buffalo Blues
Of course, this is but a taste of the pieces March produced. If you’re interested in reading more, they’re all available on this very website.
Can’t wait to see what April brings!