Toronto Maple Leafs: EIL Content Roundup July 29th
Even in the driest period of the offseason, there is still plenty to talk about when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As always, the EIL staff have been working overboard to keep you informed of every angle. With so many articles hitting the, as the kids say, interwebs, it’s easy for some to slip through the cracks.
So, here are a few notable pieces from this past week.
5 Players to Add for a Cup Run
Do the Leafs need anyone to push them over the top? If so, who could it be? These are the pressing questions us Leafs fans rattle off in the summer months.
James has it all covered in this monster slideshow.
“Chris Tanev is right-handed and he’s one of the best defensive defenseman in the NHL. That doesn’t mean he’s a stay-at-home defenseman who hits everything that moves like Roman Polak. What it means is that he is a puck-moving defenseman who puts up insane advanced stats in a primarily defensive way.
Tanev has been injured a lot in the past, but I don’t think that should stop the Leafs from pursuing him. He’s the ideal partner for Morgan Rielly because he plays a game that would perfectly compliment the Leafs young potential captain.”
Auston Matthews Should Shift to Wing
Look, you don’t need to agree with every opinion. Anna wants to see the Leafs put Matthews and Tavares together, with this being the only way to make it happen.
If you want to read some contrary thinking, give it a shot.
“Each position in hockey contributes a particular skill in order to produce effective plays. In terms of the offence, generally the centreman’s duty consists of playmaking and producing assists and the winger’s duty consists of finishing plays. This is not always the case as there are many great playmaking wingers and goal scoring centremen; however, it is a general rule of thumb to follow.
The most successful centres have this assist generating ability and the most successful wingers have a great goal scoring ability. For the last two seasons, Auston Matthews had 29 assists per season, lower than his goal total in each of those seasons.”
Don’t Sign Nylander to a Bridge Deal
It’s pretty simple, really. Just don’t do it. Hunter explains why.
“Signing Nylander to a short-term deal may seem like a decent idea. Pay a lower than league average amount for a 60-point forward while you re-sign Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner and building up your defence as three members of it have expiring contracts next summer.
But with a season possibly playing on the wing of John Tavares, the Leafs should want to have Nylander sign for what he is worth now for as many years as they can get him. Playing with one of the best centres in the league will no doubt pad Nylander’s stats to the point that in a few years he could be asking for as much money as Nikita Kucherov.”
Not Apologizing to the Islanders
In which Michael is sure to make a ton of friends on Long Island.
“I am not sure how many fans remember this, but considering I was only nine at the time, I remember it vividly. My family went to our grandparent’s house, usually, we go on Saturday but because of how big this game was, we went on a Sunday. Even though the Toronto Maple Leafs were not playing, this game held their playoff hopes.
It was the New York Islanders versus a stacked New Jersey Devils team. One game left, if the Islanders won, they made the playoffs, if they lost in any form, the Leafs would make it.”
Thanks for reading! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled to Editor in Leaf for tons of summer content.