The Toronto Maple Leafs are back, baby!
The regular season is finally upon us, and the Editor in Leaf staff have been working around the clock to bring you, our loyal readers, right into the middle of the action. Every angle has been covered, and every stone has been overturned.
With so many stories hitting the wall all at once, it’s easy to lose a few in the shuffle. So, enjoy this roundup of this week’s notable pieces.
Toronto Maple Leafs Just Scratching the Surface
How good can the Leafs truly be? That’s a question seemingly on everyone’s mind these days, rising up in the midst of the team’s historic offensive start.
It’s one worth asking too.
Sure, the Leafs have steamrolled their opponents in the scorecard, but they’ve managed to do it all without the services of William Nylander AND with the entirety of their bottom six practically held goalless. That’s not going to be the case forever, and if/when every facet of the lineup begins firing on all cylinders, we may not be prepared for the carnage to come.
Which is exactly what James tackled in his piece this week. Give it a look.
“The Leafs are currently frozen by the Nylander negotiations, but once that’s taken care of, you can expect them to take advantage of their remaining cap space to improve the team.
How do they do that? Well, they’ve got several excellent non-roster prospects and all their future draft picks. Teams in the Leafs position routinely trade first rounders and this team will be no exception.
The Leafs also have Andreas Borgman in the AHL and I’m not sure people realize how effective of an NHL player he has been so far. That’s depth.
Oh and there’s Andreas Johnson. He’s so far done nothing, but he almost led the AHL in scoring last year.”
Nazem Kadri Bound to Score
Speaking of the goalless bottom six, Nazem Kadri is still searching for this first of the year six games in. Which, honestly, shouldn’t cause much panic. The Leafs have the weaponry to withstand a slump from their 3C (still hilarious to say that) and, with John Tavares in the fold, Kadri isn’t required to shoulder the load.
Still, it would be nice for the guy to at least get one in. So, this week, Michael examined the underlying numbers behind Kadri’s goal drought.
“Kadri has recorded 4 assists so far this season, two of which he was registered on the score sheet as the primary assist. He also has registered 0.80 PPG (roughly 66 points in a full season), has been on the ice for 8 goals for, a 0.21 GC, and is currently on pace to record 62 assists.
Additionally, he has a 61.54% Corsi-for, has outshot and out-chanced the opposition by 53.75% and 67.82% respectively, a 74.29 HDCF%, and a 1.051 PDO which the second best of his NHL career.
So what do all of these numbers mean?”
Matthews & Rielly Lead the Scoring Race
BREAKING: Auston Matthews is good at hockey. That, I think we all knew. What no one could have foreseen is Morgan Rielly keeping pace with him in the point column, and even breaking a few Bobby Orr records in the process.
Hunter dives into the factors fuelling Toronto’s pair of phenoms success.
“Rielly’s game this year has been about using his speed to keep opponents in check on defense while simultaneously setting up the Leafs in the offensive zone. His passes are quick and calculated, looking for the best possible chance for the Leafs to light the lamp. He also used his underrated slap shot last night, firing in the Leafs’ first goal of the game on the one time. His 12 points are the second most by a defenseman through five games in NHL history behind Harry Cameron and his 15 point start with the Toronto Arenas during the 1917-18 season.
Matthews’ game has been simple, but effective: Shoot the puck and watch it go in.”
End the Nikita Zaitsev Experiment
Sure, the Leafs have been dominating offensively, but their back end is still a work in progress.
Like it or not, Nikita Zaitsev is a cemented piece of Toronto’s blueline for the foreseeable future, with him being locked into a 7-year deal and all. There’s no getting rid of the Russian import. He’s here to stay.
Such a reality does not sit well with Josh, who, in his piece this week, pleaded for the conclusion of the Zaitsev experiment once and for all. Do you agree? Give it a read to potentially change your mind.
“On the other hand, Zaitsev has been nothing but abysmal. In 5 games played, the 26-year-old Moscow, Russia native has registered 1 assist and 23:11 minutes per game. His stats are skewed by the massive amount of defensive zone starts he’s getting, but at the same time, the pairing hasn’t been effective and you’re not moving Gardiner off it, leaving only one choice.
Just by looking at his statistics and comparing them to last season, you’ll see that Mike Babcock is giving him a lot more ice time and is having him start in the defensive zone a lot more than the past. Babcock’s strategy of giving Zaitsev more ice time and having him start in the defensive zone more often isn’t working. Unfortunately, it’s just making Zaitsev look a lot worse.”
Thanks for reading!