Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Stars for the Month of December
December couldn’t have gone much – any? – better for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Sheldon Keefe’s first full month as head coach was a smashing success, with few teams coming anywhere close to matching what the Toronto Maple Leafs accomplished.
The Maple Leafs won nine times in 13 games and finished with a .731 points percentage.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were the only team ahead of them in either category, while the Vegas Golden Knights joined Pittsburgh in the 20-point club (Toronto had 19).
November saw the Leafs make to switch to Sheldon Keefe, and he was the first star the last time we did this, with Andersen coming in at #2 and William Nylander at #3.
This month, there’s three completely different stars, which shows how deep of a team the Leafs have.
There was no shortage of consistently strong performers behind the team’s success, which makes isolating three more difficult than usual.
Let’s give it a go.
3rd star – John Tavares
Be it with Ilya Mikheyev or Mitch Marner as his primary winger, Tavares played some excellent, productive, hockey in December .
Since being paired with Nylander and Kerfott towards the end of the month, he’s been even better.
He tallied six goals and 15 points in 13 games despite factoring in on only 57% of Toronto’s goals he was on for.
For added perspective, his IPP (individual points percentage) generally hovers between 65% and 75% on a yearly basis.
Tavares also led all players with 68 scoring chances. Not Leafs players, *all* players. His expected goals total was ~7.5, suggesting he deserved another goal or two – especially given his finishing ability.
Put simply, Tavares produced at a high clip even though he had rotating linemates and the percentages worked against him.
2nd star – Mitch Marner
The Toronto Maple Leafs pay Marner a ton of money to produce points at a top tier rate. He did that in December.
Marner accumulated 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in just 12 games played. That slotted him 1st on the Maple Leafs and 4th across the entire league, with the three players ahead of Marner all playing 1-2 more games.
He didn’t just put up numbers cause he plays big minutes.
His efficiency was through the roof. Marner averaged 3.94 points per 60 at 5v5 and 10.27 per 60 on the man advantage, both of which ranked 1st among Leafs regulars.
As if the production was not enough, Marner also led the Toronto Maple Leafs in Corsi (55.06%), Expected Goals (56.97%), and posted a plus-6 goal differential at evens.
Not to mention a five point night against the Carolina Hurricanes in the infamous game before the Christmas break.
That was a $10.89 million month.
1st star – Auston Matthews
Auston Matthews has been the best 5v5 goal scorer, and one of the best overall, since the day he entered the league. That ability was on full display in December.
Matthews netted seven goals at 5v5. Only three players matched him and nobody scored more. If we look across all gamestates, only Anthony Duclair scored as many goals (11).
He did all kinds of scoring, which is great. So is the fact nothing but good happened with Matthews on the ice.
The Maple Leafs out-scored opponents by 10 goals with Matthews on the ice at 5v5. No other forward had a positive differential in the double digits.
Many – myself included – thought that playing for Keefe would allow the top players the freedom to unlock their offensive potential. Matthews, like Marner, Tavares, William Nylander, et all, are certainly proving that to be true.
numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
Matthews lived up to his status as the franchise players in December, and made strides towards his first ever Rocket Richard Trophy. He currently sits just three goals behind Boston’s David Pastrnak.
Next. Grading Each Season in the Past Decade. dark
Matthews is now on pace for over 50 goals and if he keeps up the kind of play he exhibited in December, he’s bound to win his first major trophy.