Toronto Maple Leafs: Is Coach Mike Babcock the Problem?

The Toronto Maple Leafs are only in eighth place in the NHL.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have the best goalie in the world, the world’s second best player, another top ten player at centre, a third number-one centre, the leading candidate for the Norris trophy and tons and tons and tons of other good stuff going their way.

So is the problem Mike Babock?

Hahahahahhahhahahahhahahhahahahha.  Hang on…… Hahahahahahahahahhahahahaah.

No.

Babcock Still the Best

Guess what?

Unless you’ve hired an incompetent boob, someone whose name rhymes with barlyle, for example, then the coach is almost never the problem.

But the TV and Radio constantly give voice to people who feed the worst fears in order to keep everyone riled up like a bunch  of clowns jacked on Red Bull.

So of course a mini-slump is going to feel like the end of the world.

But guess what? All your worst fears aren’t confirmed by a blip in a super long schedule that includes some crazy anomalies that will never happen again.

We know, for a fact, that the Leafs power play, as well as streaks by Kadri, Nylander and Matthews aren’t representative of their actual abilities.

Since we know that, and since, had they scored their normal expected amounts over the last month we wouldn’t be talking about this, then there is nothing to worry about.

Oh and the goalie missed a month and then played two mediocre games out of three.

And they win that Coyotes game nine times out of ten.

But how can anyone relax when parties I won’t embarrass by naming go on the radio and, with a straight face, compare the Toronto Maple Leafs to the New York Islanders – a team who (get this:) “plays the right way.”

So I’d like to offer you a solution, I’d like to blame the coach, the GM or William Nylander, but the fact is it’s totally random and the team will be fine.

MIke Babcock is still the best.

Islanders

I should probably just make a full post out of this, but my head might explode if I do.

The Islanders are:

– The sixth worst possession team (that blows the ‘they play good defense’ conversation out of the water.)

– The third worst shot producing team.

– Allow the 9th most scoring chances per minute.

– Also happen to lead the NHL in save percentage, and recently had a streak where their starting goalie, Robin Lehner went 11-1 with a .950 save percentage.

It’s great that Lehner has turned his life around and is now the leading candidate for the Vezina Trophy, but it doesn’t make the Islanders better than the Leafs.

It is wrong and completely disingenuous to look at their roster, or their GM and compare it to the Leafs.  They don’t play the right way, they don’t prove toughness is important, or character, or identity or any of those idiotic buzz words lazy people pull out to explain away statistical anomalies

Yes, the Islanders are ahead of the Leafs right now.  But if you think that’s going to last you are crazy.  The Islanders have a terrible roster and have signed a bunch of old crappy players to bizarre contracts.  Lou Lamoriello is half the GM Kyle Dubas is and the Toronto Maple Leafs were right to recognize this and get the terrible Lamoriello out of here when they did.

Any team, literally any team, would be where the Islanders are if they got the play from their goalie that the Islanders have.

Remember when Craig Andersen led the Senators to within one goal of the Stanley Cup and they believed they were actually good, despite the stats saying otherwise, and went ahead and mortgaged their future for Matt Duchene?

Last year’s Senators are this years Islanders.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are way better.

stats from naturalstattrick.com