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Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Full of Surprises

By Mike Stephens

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 20: Frederik Gauthier #33 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up before facing the St. Louis Blues at the Scotiabank Arena on October 20, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 20: Frederik Gauthier #33 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up before facing the St. Louis Blues at the Scotiabank Arena on October 20, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – NOVEMBER 26: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs gets his crease ready to face the Boston Bruins in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on November 26, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Bruins 4-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – NOVEMBER 26: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs gets his crease ready to face the Boston Bruins in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on November 26, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Bruins 4-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Hunter Eitel

For the biggest surprise on the Leafs so far, I could’ve taken a few options (the fourth line playing so well, Morgan Rielly’s coming out party as an elite defenseman) but for my money, Frederik Andersen’s other-worldly play has taken me off guard.

Andersen has always been a good goalie. But this year, he’s gone from good to phenomenal. At the time of writing, he’s 12-7-0 with a shutout, a 2.24 GAA and an unreal .931 SV% with a shutout. Those numbers have been a major reason why the Maple Leafs are going to contend for the Atlantic Division title as the season progresses.

As much as I would like Andersen to play fewer games than he did last year (he started 66 games last year for the Leafs) you can’t deny he has the hot glove right now. We all knew the offence was going to be impressive. But Andersen has bucked the trend of slow starts and emerged as one of the best goalies in the NHL as we reach December.

Andersen was always going to the difference between the Maple Leafs contending for the Stanley Cup or the Maple Leafs contending for their third straight first-round exit. He has more than stepped up to carry the team on nights when the offence is flying or nights when the scoring dries up.

Hopefully, Mike Babcock will give him some rest if the Leafs lock up a playoff spot. But, for now, the team should keep Andersen going to rack up some early season wins that will come in handy when February and March hit.

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