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Some Very Good Reasons to be Optimistic About the Toronto Maple Leafs

By James Tanner

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 05: Mikey Anderson #44 of the Los Angeles Kings skates against Denis Malgin #62 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at Staples Center on March 05, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 05: Mikey Anderson #44 of the Los Angeles Kings skates against Denis Malgin #62 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at Staples Center on March 05, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – DECEMBER 17: Cody Ceci #83 of the Toronto Maple Leafs .(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – DECEMBER 17: Cody Ceci #83 of the Toronto Maple Leafs .(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Reason #10: Depth Down the Middle

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the best team in the NHL down the middle, and the gap between them and the second best team is massive.

The Leafs have Auston Matthews at 1C and he’s on pace for about 60 goals, and is the league’s best 5v5 goal scorer since he came into the NHL.

He’s a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate who is also excellent defensively. He leads all NHL forwards with over 1000 minutes of ice time in Corsi, as well as goals.

At 2C the Leafs have John Tavares, the captain. He is just below a point per game and on pace for over 30 goals, while also putting up excellent peripheral numbers.  He is in competition for the best second line centre in the NHL with Evgeni Malkin.

The last two centre ice positions on the Toronto Maple Leafs are taken up by Alex Kerfoot and Jason Spezza.

Kerfoot’s low on-ice save percentage is making him look bad, but he’s actually put up great numbers in his first season as a Leaf  52% Corsi, 53% of both regular and high danger scoring chances, and 52% expected goals.

He is the Leafs best defensive forward, and he only has slightly worse scoring numbers than Nazem Kadri, while putting up significantly better underlying numbers across the board.

As for Spezza, he’s scoring at close to a first line rate from a limited fourth line role and is having a fantastic season.  There’s not a better group of centres one-through-four in the NHL.

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