Ignore The Media, The Toronto Maple Leafs Are Contenders

MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 06: William Nylander #29 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a second period goal with teammates on the bench against the Montreal Canadiens during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on April 6, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 06: William Nylander #29 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a second period goal with teammates on the bench against the Montreal Canadiens during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on April 6, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the best teams in the NHL.

Based on the coverage the Toronto Maple Leafs get, you can be forgiven if you’re surprised to learn that they are now 12th in the NHL overall standings.

That isn’t since Sheldon Keefe was hired.

That is 12th overall, since the beginning of October.

That includes a six game losing streak, playing half a season without a single point from their back-up goalie, never playing their optimal lineup, playing nine games without Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin, and switching from a traditional NHL system under Babcock to what they are now playing under Keefe.

This is a team that would have eight extra points if they had played the exact same way but received just average NHL goaltending (they have gotten the 28th best goaltending in the NHL this year). (Naturalstattrick.com).

Toronto Maple Leafs Doing Well

Because the Leafs don’t check , fight, or break their sticks over the net in anger, they often get accused of not trying.

The fact is, humans are terrible at identifying other human’s effort levels.  This is mostly because when people are good at something, they look effortless.

The Leafs (generally) do not do the things we traditionally associate with trying hard. Offensive players’ effort is always called into question when they don’t score, even though that is patently ridiculous.

Because of this, fans and analysts  alike falsely attribute grinding players with “trying hard” and skilled players as “being lazy.”   The fact is, a lazy player who only seldom gave an effort wouldn’t even come close to making the NHL.

This is the crux of why the Toronto Maple Leafs get such bad coverage.  A team with six bad players who hit and fight, plus two stay-at-home defenseman looks like it tries harder.

Take the Dallas Stars for example.  They haven’t had the injuries the Leafs have had.  They have received goaltending so good it can’t possibly be sustained.  And yet, they sit one point ahead of the Leafs and as recently as last week a  well-known hockey commentator called them “Legitimate Cup Contenders.”

And yet, despite overcoming nearly the worst goaltending in the league, the Leafs somehow aren’t.  But worse, anyone who suggests otherwise is just some kind of “fanboy” who is so biased he’d cheer for the team even if Brian Burke were in charge of it.

But facts are facts.

Teams that outperform their goaltending (Leafs are 12th, their goaltending 28th) tend to perform better in the future than teams that rely on their goalies for success.

Facts are facts.

And the Toronto Maple Leafs have recently beat the Tampa Bay Lightning twice, the Penguins once, and they beat the Panthers in the Most Important Game of the Season.

This is a good team that won’t be injured forever.  They won’t always get terrible goaltending.

Instead of a cynical media and fanbase that always wants to criticize and destroy, it might be worth thinking about the team in this way:

The Toronto Maple Leafs have overcome adversity and shown a ton of heart in order to stay competitive despite many setbacks.

Next. Evaluating Brendan Shanahan. dark

The future for the NHL’s youngest team is very bright, and their rebuild is only now starting to come to fruition.