The Toronto Maple Leafs Need A Shootout Specialist

After losing Tyler Bozak in the offseason, The Toronto Maple Leafs are in need of a new shootout specialist.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had their share of successful and dreadful shootout performers over the last decade. When Joffrey Lupul and Tyler Bozak came off the bench, they were nearly unstoppable. Lupul posting a career shootout percentage of 38.9%, and Bozak at 36.8%.

The 2016/2017 Toronto Maple Leafs shootout record was their worst in the last four NHL seasons. Posting a 1-8 record, the team struggled to score and earn those valuable shootout points in tight games. Like all good teams do, they figure out their weaknesses and come back stronger.

The 2017/2018 Toronto Maple Leafs did just that, turning the tide for a remarkable 7-2 record in the shootout and claiming seven extra points in the standings to help propel them to 105pts, a franchise record.

A huge reason for their bounce-back season in the shootout was the importance of Tyler Bozak, their shootout specialist. Tyler Bozak has had his fair share of critics during his nine-year tenure as a Toronto Maple Leaf playing fist line minutes, but none of his critics would argue his value one on one in any situation.

The Quiet Yet Deadly Sniper

For his career, Tyler Bozak ranks 59th on the active list of top shootout specialists in the NHL. He has 14 goals scored in 38 attempts for a 36.8% success rate. Brandon Pirri tops the active NHL list with a 55.6% success rate in the shootout.

Below is a graph I have constructed to indicate how vital Tyler Bozak was to the Toronto Maple Leafs each time they entered a shootout during the 2017/2018 regular season. Auston Matthews was their second best shootout specialist, shooting at 50%.

In nine total shootouts for the season, Bozak was involved in six of them for the Toronto Maple Leafs. In those six shootouts, Bozak was successful five times, resulting in five shootout wins. The only attempt Bozak was stopped resulted in a loss against Florida. After that loss, Bozak went 5 for 5 the rest of the season.

Losing Tyler Bozak hurts the Toronto Maple Leafs in an area where they have been acceptable at best the past four NHL seasons. Strength in the shootout is a valuable asset to have for any NHL team, and losing Bozak raises questions as to how they will earn their shootout wins going forward into the 2018/2019 NHL season.

The Next Batch Of Shooters

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a huge splash in signing UFA superstar John Tavares, but where does Tavares rank in the shootout? In the graph below, I have compared the next best Toronto Maple Leaf in the shootout, along with John Tavares’ shootout stats with the Islanders during the 2017/2018 season.

Without Bozak, the odds of scoring in the shootout for the Toronto Maple Leafs right now rests in the hands of Auston Matthews, who is their only forward with an above 30% success rate. The Toronto Maple Leafs would be wise to scout a shootout specialist internally or via free agency to fill the hole Bozak has left.

Weighing The Options

The options the Toronto Maple Leafs have are not as bad as one would think this late into the off-season. Rick Nash, Brian Gionta, Kris Versteeg, and Dom Moore are all solid shootout options on the free agent market.

Brining in Tyler Ennis seemed to be a low-risk depth signing at the time, but it can have a very large impact for the Toronto Maple Leafs this upcoming season. Ennis is 32.6% for his career in the shootout, along with Dom Moore who is still kicking around with the Toronto Maple Leafs players at charity events.

The Toronto Maple Leafs cap space gives them the chance to explore internal options or the free agent market this summer to strengthen their shootout skill. The loss of Tyler Bozak certainly hurts, but this could be a way for the Leafs to strike gold with a couple of sleeper snipers who do more than shore up the shootout depth.

Statistics provided by hockey-reference.com, espn.com & sportingcharts.com