The Underrated Factor in the Toronto Maple Leafs Mediocre Season

The Toronto Maple Leafs have not lived up to expectations this season.

From a six game losing streak that saw the Toronto Maple Leafs fire their coach, to a mid-season loss to an emergency goalie, I don’t think this was the year anyone envisioned for this team.

Now don’t get me wrong.

There are a lot of positives: even league-average goaltending puts the Leafs within striking distance of the Bruins (at least for the majority of the season that occurred after firing Babcock and hiring Keefe).

Additionally, teams that outperform their goaltending (not to mention a calamitous injury situation) tend to perform well in the future.

But there is one thing I think people have overlooked when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs and their lack of success so far this season.

Toronto Maple Leafs Reason for Mediocrity

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Bruins last spring, then proceeded to turn over over half of their roster.

An NHL roster has 18 players on it who dress regularly.

The Leafs lost, then parted ways with Patrick Marleau, Connor Brown, Tyler Ennis, Nazem Kadri, Ron Hainsey, Nikita Zaitsev and Jake Gardiner.  Both Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott started the year on the injured reserve.

That is nine players who were absent from the lineup opening night, who had played against Boston in the Playoffs.

Add in a couple early season injuries to Tavares and Marner, and the Leafs were dressing a roster of players who hadn’t had much time to gel.

Neither of their goalies was playing well.

So they lost six games and changed coaches.

Then made significant adjustments to their play style, the likes of which have rarely been attempted in mid season.

I’m not here to excuse the Leafs record because of this, or to say it was even the deciding factor.

All in all, they were a top ten team in the NHL from the day they hired Shelden Keefe, despite playing over 25% of those games with their two best defenseman injured at the same time, and getting some of the NHL’s worst goaltending.

At the same time, I don’t think enough attention has been given to the fact that turning over half your roster creates a lot of small problems that, while most likely worthwhile over time, hurt you in the short term.

Add in a coaching change and a constantly growing injury list, and it’s easy to understand why the Toronto Maple Leafs – as of yet, hopefully – have not lived up to expectations this season.