Examining the First Week of the Toronto Maple Leafs Season
Through the first seven days of the Toronto Maple Leafs season, the team has looked quite impressive coming off a disappointing 2019-20 season.
At five-on-five, the Toronto Maple Leafs offensive and defensive structure seems to have improved across the board following head coach Sheldon Keefe’s first official training camp in the NHL.
Although in a very small sample size (stats for this article as of Monday, before the game vs. Winnipeg), the Leafs are second in the league in Corsi-for percentage, fifth in Fenwick-for percentage, and fifth in scoring chances-for percentage (stats; naturalstattrick.com).
Special teams have also seen a slight improvement from last season with the team ranking fourth in powerplay percentage and 15th in penalty kill percentage – up from sixth and 21st, respectively, last season.
Overall, the first three games for the Toronto Maple Leafs offer a significant promise of what is to come in this one-of-a-kind NHL season. With that in mind, let’s get into some notable things from the Leafs’ early going.
The Thornton-Matthews-Marner Line is as Good as Advertised
Although you could say the Leafs first line really only broke through on that second night of their back-to-back against the Ottawa Senators – seven points on the night for the trio – truth be told the Thornton-Matthews-Marner line has dominated competition in every game so far.
Through their first three games, Jumbo Joe and Marner flanking the Leafs superstar center has produced a 75% expected goals-for percentage, 72.4% Corsi-for percentage, and a 68.4 Fenwick-for percentage (moneypuck.com).
Some questions were raised following the opening game of Toronto’s weekend series if Keefe was riding Thornton a little too much. For a 41-year-old, 18 minutes of ice time may be a tad too high, especially if that is fourth on the team among forwards, above John Tavares and William Nylander.
This will be something to watch over the course of the season, but so far, it is hard to argue with Keefe’s deployment if the Leafs primary triumvirate continues to put up stellar results.
Jimmy Vesey – Nice Surprise
Coming into training camp, all the hype amongst the Leafs new additions seemed to lie with TJ Brodie, the big addition on the backend, Thornton, the most high-profile acquisition, and Wayne Simmonds, the rugged Scarborough native, brought in for some leadership, size, and muscle. Heck, even Mikko Lehtonen, the KHL defensemen of the year, garnered substantial hype due to his offensive ceiling and NHL readiness.
But Dubas’ sneaky work inking the former Buffalo Sabre to a one-year, $900,000 deal may prove to be the steal of the offseason. Scoring his first of the season in the Leafs home opener, I have been pleasantly surprised with Vesey’s play over the past few games.
Most notably, he has been using his large 6”3’, 202 lbs frame to be a significant force on the forecheck and in creating havoc in the opposition’s crease.
Ranking fourth on this team in hits per 60 and sixth in blocks per 60 among all forwards, Vesey has played a large part in making this Leafs team harder to play against.
John Tavares Revenge Tour
Undoubtedly the Leafs MVP of the season so far has to be their captain, John Tavares. Leading the team in points through three games, Tavares looks like a completely different player from the one we saw in 2019-20.
The Oakville, Ontario native suffered an injury at the World Championships in 2019, which derailed his offseason preparation heading into last season. Add in a fractured finger that caused him to miss a couple of weeks, and Tavares just never looked like himself.
Reading any piece detailing his leadership style, all seem to mention Tavares is a lead-by-example type of captain. That has been extremely evident so far this season with Tavares tied for the team lead in hits with Justin Holl.
Kyle Dubas and Co. have expressed interest in making this team play with more of a competitive edge and with the captain doing so thus far, safe to say the Leafs are on their way to achieving their GM’s goal.
TJ Brodie was Such a Good Addition
Being born in 2000, it is safe to say Brodie has been the most impactful right-side defensemen I can remember to don the Blue and White. The former Calgary Flame brings a calm, cool, and collected presence to a Toronto Maple Leafs blueline after the whirlwind experiment that was Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci last season.
His two-way abilities have been on full display through the Leafs’ first three games. Coupling his natural skill of swallowing up passing lanes, preventing odd-man rushes in the process, with a touch for creating offense, Brodie has been the perfect fit on the Leafs blueline.
Ever since he was drafted fifth overall in 2012, Morgan Rielly has been tasked with absorbing the playmaking role from Toronto’s backend. Without a partner who was particularly skilled in that area, it often felt like Rielly was being anchored down and was frequently forced to prop up his teammate.
With Brodie in the fold, the Toronto Maple Leafs #1 blueliner now has someone to outlet too and does not have to be the only defensemen that can work the breakout and effectively quarterback the cycle play in the offensive zone.
Next. Toronto Maple Leafs: Early Thoughts On the Newest Players. dark
The first seven days of the 2020-21 Toronto Maple Leafs have been extremely enjoyable to watch, and if it is any indication of what is to come, Leafs Nation is in for a treat.