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.
Breaking the Season Into 5 Game Segments
Mike Babcock abides by a mantra where he judges his team’s performance in 5 game segments. If you’re about to win 3 of every 5 games consistently, then you’re a playoff-bound team.
In his latest piece, David breaks down this season into Babcock’s patented 5-game segments, examining just how good the Leafs have been so far, what they’ve done well, and which areas they’d do well to seek improvement in.
Check it out.
“Despite losing Auston Matthews for an extended period of time, the Toronto Maple Leafs have set themselves up for success by getting off to an excellent start to the 2018/2019 NHL regular season.
During the first two segments, the Toronto Maple Leafs found themselves playing 80’s hockey for a small stretch. The team scored 38 goals, and also gave up 32 in ten games. The Leafs finished off the month of October with 16 points in the standings, claiming 2nd in the Atlantic Division. Their total goals for moved up to 42, and finished with 37 goals against.
With a high flying offence as potent as the Leafs and defence nearly unchanged from the previous year, the Toronto Maple Leafs have scored and defended as expected.”
Kasperi Kapanen is Officially a First-Line Forward
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed yet, but William Nylander is absent from the Leafs. In his stead, someone has, understandably, been required to step it up. That someone is none other than Nylander’s good buddy, Kasperi Kapanen.
Before the start to this season, few fans, even the more optimistic ones, saw Kapanen as a first-liner. He was primarily thought of as a complimentary piece, a ridiculously skilled gadget winger who could inject life into the penalty kill. Boy, has he ever proved us wrong.
Kapanen has since emerged as a legitimate top-six weapon. Sliding in on the top line, he’s continued to produce regardless of which superstar centre he plays alongside and has entered the conversation of potential future cap headaches.
Check out James’ piece on the new Finnish Flash.
“If there is one thing we have learned so far this season, it’s that Kasperi Kapanen is a top line forward. He may have to switch to left-wing once Nylander is back, but Kapanen should remain on the top line where his speed helps give Auston Matthews room to operate.
What I especially like is that since Auston Matthews’ injury, Kapanen’s Corsi-For has actually gone up, proving his success was not just a function of being paired with Matthews. (Note that Hyman and Ennis didn’t become top liner scorers playing with Matthews, so that narrative was always silly).
So far this year Kapanen has a 52% possession rating to go along with six goals and 12 points in 14 games. For some reason, he only has 4:00 of power-play ice-time so far this season. This means that not only should we question Babcock’s sanity, but also that Kapanen is even better than these stats suggest.”
Evaluating the Zach Hyman Situation
Is Zach Hyman best suited for the top line? That is a question the entirety of Leafs Nation has been asking ever since he became Auston Matthews’ unofficial running mate three years ago.
Hyman is a valuable player. He’s very responsible in his own zone, is in the upper echelon of forecheckers in the NHL today, and can chip in around 40 points a year if given the right circumstances.
With that being said, is his presence hindering the potential of those around him? Is Hyman truly skilled enough to compliment superstars like Matthews or John Tavares? These are the questions Josh attempts to answer in his piece from this week.
“At this point in the season, I’d argue that Hyman deserves more time with John Tavares and Mitch Marner before Mike Babcock moves him to a different line. I’d prefer to give Hyman another 10 to 15 games before we urge Babcock to push Hyman to a different offensive line. The Toronto Maple Leafs still have plenty of games to go and it’s hard to judge Hyman on only 14 games.
If you look back at last season, Hyman had the same point totals after 14 games played. At this point last season, he had 4 goals and 3 assists. He was having more success last season in finding the back of the net, but you still need to give him time. Let’s not forget, Hyman had a lot of chemistry with Auston Matthews and could just be getting adjusted to playing alongside a different centre.
If you don’t like Hyman, I understand. He’ll never be the top line left winger that you want him to be, but we knew that from the get-go.”
Carolina is a Perfect Trade Partner
No. Stop. I’m done.
I’m done talking about William Nylander. I’m done talking about the reported “stalemate” between the team and player, I’m done talking about which games Kyle Dubas happens to show his face at, and I’m done talking about whether or not his attendance at said games indicates a trade is imminent.
Look, I never thought Nylander would sit out to this point in the season. I don’t think anyone did. But even so, there’s still a 90% chance he’s re-signed before the December 1st deadline.
Nylander is only trying to wield the few shreds of leverage at his disposal. And that’s commendable, expected, and even commendable. But he’s also not an idiot. He can’t look at what his team is doing without him and think sitting out the entire season is a good career move.
And if a trade comes into play, so be it. At least the Leafs could pry Dougie Hamilton.
Here’s what Alex had to say on the matter.
“TO CAROLINA
RW William Nylander, D Ron Hainsey
TO TORONTO
D Brett Pesce, RW Julien Gauthier, 2019 First Round Pick
Obviously not a lot of people are going to see eye to eye on how good Nylander is. I know people who say he’s as good as John Tavares, while other fans, angry that he is holding out, vastly underrate him.
But the fact of the matter is, William Nylander is a very good hockey player.
In his two full seasons in the NHL, he’s posted 61 points each time. Those are elite numbers for somebody as young as he is. He’s done this mostly alongside Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman, as well as next to Nazem Kadri and even on the fourth line at times. He’s also maintained a positive Corsi for rating in his two full seasons rounding up to a career percentage of 52.6%. When you’re using the eye test, he’s arguably one of the most graceful skaters on the team and he’s an elite passer as well.”
Thanks for reading!