Toronto Maple Leafs: EIL Content Roundup – November 24th

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.

Jake Gardiner is an All-Time Great Toronto Maple Leafs Player

There is a good chance that you don’t agree with this. Jake Gardiner elicits a form of vitriol from this fanbase that is reserved for no other player but him. For all his skill, all his offensive prowess, old school cannot stand Gardiner’s occasional defensive faux pas – those which seem to occur at the worst possible moments.

Apparently, no one learned their lesson from Larry Murphy.

Well, James happens to think the opposite. He loves Gardiner, exclaiming him to not only be one of the Leafs all-time best defencemen, but one of the best players in franchise history.

Give his latest piece a read to find out why.

“Jake Gardiner had the misfortune to come to the Leafs when they were just about to blow a tire on their high expectations.  He stayed through a complete gut and rebuild, and now patrols the blueline for the Cup Favorites, but it’s the early years that defined his (unjust) reputation.

As one of the best skaters in the NHL, Gardiner has always been able to make use of his wheels to play a high-risk game.  SInce the team was terrible, and since he was just breaking in, he made many errors that did not go unnoticed.

But a funny thing happened: he grew into an elite player. (Only 16 defenseman had 50 points last year, few of them with the 5v5 point totals or the defensive impacts of Gardiner, so if you don’t think he’s elite, you are wrong because evidence has and will always trump a random opinion).”

Let’s Be Thankful, Leafs Nation

Ah, the holidays. This week brought forth American Thanksgiving, the one holiday that our neighbours south of the border celebrate better than us.

There is a lot to be thankful for when it comes to the Leafs. Despite the recent two-game losing streak (oh no, season ruined!) the Leafs sit in the upper tier of the NHL standings and have managed to continue doing so in spite of absences from 2/3 of their top line.

No other team can claim to be capable of doing that. None.

So, in the holiday spirit, read Hunter’s latest piece to see why he’s thankful this season.

“First off, we should be thankful for Andersen.

Yes he was given the loss last night, but the man stopped 40 shots of the 43 he faced (.930 SV%) and is one of the top goalies in the league right now. Last night was also his first loss on the road all year, showing the prowess him and the rest of the Leafs have had on the road this year. Andersen is now 12-6-0 with a 2.13 GAA and .935 SV%, he’s been unbelievable and hopefully he can continue this kind of play as the season progresses.”

William Nylander Will Sign a Bridge Deal

I’m not even going to dignify this topic with a response. The discussion surrounding Nylander’s contract has effectively ruined what has thus far been a torrid start for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I don’t care if you think he’s greedy (he’s not). I don’t care if you think he should be traded (he shouldn’t). William Nylander is a hockey player and I would just love to watch him play some hockey. And if he can’t right now, that’s fine. But let us watch hockey regardless.

Wilbert seems to think a one-year deal is inevitable to get Willy back in the lineup.

Give his latest piece a read to find out why.

“The Mexican standoff between Kyle Dubas and William Nylander is slowly moving towards it’s ‘epic conclusion’. Spoiler alert, I think the outcome has been negotiated weeks if not months ago.

Both parties will come to their senses and will go for the 1-year bridge deal.

Why the 1-year bridge deal? Doesn’t it only postpone the inevitable for 8 months?

Yes, it does and it is absolutely perfect. In my previous article, I wrote about the influence of Mitch Marner and how he could be the key to resolving this standoff. If Dubas could get the 3 young guns in a room, they could punch it out in one afternoon regarding salary.

With Nylander signed on a 1-year deal, that could happen next summer.”

Josh Tessler’s Final Thoughts

This week, we bid farewell to one of our hardest working and longest tenured contributors, Josh Tessler. Josh has been with Editor in Leaf for a very long time. His willingness to contribute and a steadfast reliability made him a site staple for years and turns his departure into an undoubtedly melancholy one.

For his final piece for Editor in Leaf, Josh left us with a few of his thoughts.

As Managing Co-Editor, I just want to personally thank Josh for his hard work and wish him nothing but the best on all his future endeavours. You will be missed.

“I’ve made many friends from my time at Editor In Leaf and it’s been very hard to say goodbye.

Since I was a child, I’ve been obsessed with sports writing. When I was in elementary school, I decided to create my own newspaper. My classmates and I would spend hours sitting with my mother and we’d type out article after article. From that point forward, I knew that I would eventually write about sports.

While sports blogging isn’t my full-time job, it’s something that I love doing. I love looking at specific players and analyzing them. My favourite posts are typically focusing on players who you normally wouldn’t consider a difference maker, but they are. They might not win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy or have an 80 point season, but that doesn’t mean that they are vital to their team’s success.”

Thanks for reading!