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: Sign Nylander NOW
This has gone on long enough. Both sides are at a stalemate here, and while I always tend to side with the player during negotiations such as these, Nylander is not making it all too easy.
It’s pretty simple, really. Nylander wants $8 million. Kyle Dubas, wisely, does not want to pay him $8 million. Neither side is wrong in their stance. But hockey continues to be played and while the Leafs haven’t seemed like their dominant selves lately, it can’t be easy for Nylander to watch from Sweden as they rack up wins without him.
If a bridge deal is all that can be had, then sign the flippin’ bridge deal. Just get back on the ice, man. James dives into this in his latest piece.
“All you need to know about how much the Leafs are missing Nylander can be summed up in one number: 46.96.
46.96% CF is Auston Matthews current possession rating. Other than Patrick Marleau’s, it’s the worst on the Leafs among forwards.
The fact that the Leafs best player scored ten goals on 50% shooting to kick of the season hides the fact that nearly every game their line has been getting destroyed.
William Nylander is among the best in the entire NHL at entering the offensive zone, and exiting the defensive zone with possession of the puck. He is far and away the best Leafs player at this skill. (This was in Ian Tulloch’s piece yesterday in the Athletic).”
Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews Won’t Score 102 Goals
Pretty obvious, right?
Not too groundbreaking of a take to posit that Auston Matthews won’t shatter the NHL’s single-season goal record. But, earlier in the year, there were indeed some people who legitimately believed Matthews had a shot at breaking it.
Yeah, it’s not going to happen. Auston is a great player, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not hitting triple digits.
Gord breaks down the obvious here.
“Still, Matthews is averaging 1.25 goals-per-game after lighting the lamp ten times through his team’s first eight games of the season. It may underline the raw skill of Toronto’s franchise centre—but it’s certainly not a sustainable resource.
Charlie Simmer holds the highest single-season shooting percentage in NHL history, with a minimum of 82 shots on goal, after recording 56 goals on 171 shots (32.7%) in 1980-81. Based on this and the outlook of Matthews’ current rate of production, he is evidently bound to regress over the course of an entire 82-game season—although he should rank among the top end of league leaders in this respect.”
A Look into the Toronto Maple Leafs Early Success
Last two games aside, the Leafs have been a pretty darn good hockey team this year.
They’ve racked up goals at a frightening rate, overwhelmed opponents with a suffocating offensive attack, and have managed to do all of this without an elite offensive weapon in William Nylander. So, what’s driving their success?
This is something Jourdan sought to answer this week, and boy, did he ever. Give it a read.
“Breaking records set by Bobby Orr for the fastest start by a defenseman with 12 points in seven games, it’s safe to say that Rielly is off to a strong start this season. After scoring at a record pace to start the year, Rielly is an early favourite to win the 2018-19 Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman.
He might not keep up the scoring pace, but when you consider that he’s partnered with Ron Hainsey, his performance is even better.
With three goals and 13 points through his clubs first seven games, Rielly has improved their defensive core’s outlook. The Vancouver, British Columbia native owns a healthy Corsi For Percentage (CF%) of 52.4% , a number in which calculates his even strength control of the puck and proves his ability to control the game. A strong CF% proves that Rielly is not only helping on the offensive side, but the defensive side as well.”
And there you have it. If you don’t want to miss any future EIL content, keep your eyes peeled to the site all season long.
Thanks for reading!