Toronto Maple Leafs: Criticism of Tavares and Marner Is Ridiculous

The Toronto Maple Leafs fans would boo Santa Claus if they didn’t like his most recent game.

Not that Toronto Maple Leafs fans are booing anyone (yet) but you get the feeling it’s close.

I thought maybe the Nylander stuff last year was for extraneous stuff beyond hockey, but maybe I was wrong.

The Leafs have played just six games, but a couple of good old Canadian boys are already taking some heat.

And there’s no reason for it!

Toronto Maple Leafs Fans Are Rabid

We’re crazy. I know it.  You know it.  One – on – One, we’re not too bad. But as a group…….yowza.

And who can blame us? It’s only been several dozen centuries since the team last won a championship.

Now, I hesitate to even write this article, because the internet allows the craziest and loudest people to have a voice that is not representative of the population at large.

I fully acknowledge that most people probably are not worried about Tavares or Marner.

Probably only point-five of a percentage of people were complaining about Nylander last year, and even less are complaining about Tavares and Marner, but….I thought these boys were off limits.

They should be.

Marner is off to such a bad start he’s averaging a point per game.

Ol’ Johnny T has five points in six games – the nerve!

To be honest, you’d think the entire team was playing like garbage if you listened to half the conversations I’ve heard – even though they’d be 5-1 and in first place with just league-average goaltending.

For an example of how nutso things get in this town, the other night, Saturday, against Detroit, your Captain, John Tavares was on the ice for 13 scoring chances for and three against, but people were complaining because there were no points in his boxscore.

People, if we’re going to be the centre of the hockey universe, let’s act a little more sophisticated than the fans from lesser cities.  We should damnwell realize that goals are random, and occasionally you can play great but the puck just doesn’t go in.

Yeah I know the Marnman just got overpaid by a bazillion, and that JT was just made the captain, but still…….

Marner – who, I swear to god I heard more than one person say he isn’t “earning” his contract – has a 57% CF while playing against top competition.

I shouldn’t have to say this at this late date, but that is awesome.

JT, no slouch, is 54%.

At 5v5 they are a minus 5 goal differential, so I do see why there are complaints, but we should all know by now that goalies sometimes throw a wrench into the best laid stats.

They are getting 57% of the scoring chances.

Marner has a PDO of 82, and anything under 100, even 99, usually means you’ve been unlucky.  Tavares has a PDO of 87.

Together, they’re shooting a combined 3%. (all stats naturalstattrick.com).

Yeah, I’m sure they’ll be fine.

Let’s give it a few games for the percentages to balance out before we start longing for Captain Dion and the guys who wanted to trade Marner for draft picks.