Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 Storylines Missed with Season on Pause
With the season still on pause, the Toronto Maple Leafs had a lot of questions about them heading down the stretch that may never get answered.
As the days pass by with the world trying to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, the question of when sports will be back on is one that remains up in the air. Although it may be some time until the Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice again, it appears they may do so during the playoffs.
While that would be a huge relief for fans who have been through quite a tumultuous year watching this team, that means a number of storylines that have been gaining steam in the previous weeks will likely be unresolved.
It could be as little as a player(s) returning from injury and what their return to the lineup does to the team. Or it could be a star player going through a historic campaign and was close to establishing a franchise record.
There are countless to choose from, but there are four ones that really stand out the most when looking at what will likely be leaving fans wondering “what if” for the foreseeable future.
Auston Matthews’ Push for 50 Goals
Auston Matthews’ historic 2019-20 season has been well documented and needs no further explanation. What is apparent is that he was so close to hitting the 50-goal plateau when the play stopped and it’s unlikely he will ever get a chance to reach the mark.
Prior to this season, only three players in Toronto Maple Leafs history have ever had a 50-goal season. The players are Rick Vaive, Garry Leeman, and Dave Andrechyuk, the latter last reached the half-century mark in 1993-94.
We’re talking over 25 years of a Leaf player failing to reach a large milestone in goals, that’s how long it has been.
Seeing Matthews have this success and doing so with both ease and efficiency was all the more impressive. It also happened to be the year he was healthy after the previous two seasons saw him miss significant time due to injuries.
The Rocket Richard race between him, David Pastrnak, and Alex Ovechkin was exciting all the way through and looked poised to have an exhilarating conclusion.
That race, however, came to an abrupt end with Pastrnak and Ovechkin tied for the lead at 48 goals each (Matthews was right behind them at 47).
With the regular season likely over, we’ve missed out on what could have been a season for the ages. The sad reality is we have no idea if Matthews will be able to replicate this feat ever again.
William Nylander’s Comeback Season
One of the biggest storylines throughout the campaign was just how well William Nylander was performing.
The contract stalemate and subsequent season last year left some doubt in his abilities to perform, but he silenced his critics in a big way.
Before the play was paused, Nylander had posted 31 goals, 28 assists, and 59 points across 68 games.
Had the regular season persisted, he would be on pace to record roughly 37 goals, 34 assists, and 71 points which would smash his previous career-high in scoring.
It’s those projected numbers that fans will be robbed of with the regular season likely to be scrapped. Nylander’s 2019-20 campaign went about as perfectly as he could have hoped for and there was another gear still in him to give even more.
While there is no denying that Nylander is a special talent and will continue to have a positive impact on the team’s performance, it is unclear if this is the peak of his prowess or if he’s just getting started.
It’s another question that will likely go unanswered for the foreseeable future as Nylander waits for his chance to prove his doubters wrong.
This season was a comeback of sorts for Nylander, but we will never know what else he could have done during the regular season.
The Goaltending Situation
When the Toronto Maple Leafs made the trade that brought in Jack Campbell from the Los Angeles Kings, it brought about a potential long-term solution to what was a thorn in the team’s side for years: the lack of a quality back-up goalie.
The subsequent games that followed brought about questions as to whether Campbell or Frederik Andersen deserved more starts down the stretch with both goalies having vastly different results.
It may have been ludicrous at times given that the team was in a playoff race, but it was one worth exploring as Andersen’s contract has a year remaining following this season.
Andersen’s numbers had been abnormally subpar compared to what he was able to do in his first three seasons in Toronto. Campbell, by contrast, was posting solid numbers and made a strong impression early on in his Leafs tenure.
Now it is true that Andersen typically improves down the stretch and he was starting to turn a corner in his last three games prior to play being stopped. However, there is no way to be sure that this pace was going to be sustainable given how wonky the year was for him.
Leafs fans were robbed of seeing what Andersen and Campbell would have done down the stretch and who knows which goalie would have come out on top.
MONTREAL, QUEBEC – OCTOBER 26: Ilya Mikheyev (Photo by Stephane Dube /Getty Images)
The Injured Players Returning
In the last game prior to the season being interrupted, Morgan Rielly made his return to the lineup against the Tampa Bay Lightning and played well in spite of not registering a point. He wasn’t, however, the only key player set to rejoin the team down the stretch.
Ilya Mikheyev, who injured his wrist in a horrific collision back in December, was close to reuniting with his teammates in short order. According to his agent, Mikheyev is now ‘100% healthy’ will be ready to go once play restarts.
Jake Muzzin was also nearing his return following a broken hand ailment putting him out of commission for a month. He was a critical force on the back end and would have provided a huge boost to the depleted defensive core that was barely treading above water at times.
Along with Cody Ceci already arriving back into play, the Leafs were finally on the cusp of icing a nearly healthy roster for the first time in weeks.
While they would have been with Andreas Johnsson anyway, it was a glimmer of hope after a year in which the team was decimated by the injury bug.
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Much like every other storyline on this list, we may never know just how much of an impact these players reinstatement into the lineup would have truly had on the team. It will remain one of the biggest question marks in the weeks and months ahead.