Toronto Maple Leafs Responsible Play A Very Good Sign

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been on the periphery of NHL success for all of GM Kyle Dubas’ tenure, yet just eight games in, the  2020/21 season feels different for a number of reasons.

During a busy offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs addressed the team’s perceived lack of grit by adding Zach Bogosian and Wayne Simmonds to the bottom of the lineup. The defensive fragility of the team was helped by the addition of TJ Brodie.

There was also room to bring back Jason Spezza and to draft in a future Hall of Famer  Joe Thornton. Then of course there was the usual suspects from Europe and Russia – it’s a place the Leafs have cornered the market on , the Leafs brought in Alex Barananov cheaply, and picked up KHL defenseman of the year Mikko Lehtonen.

After all that turnover on the fringes of the roster, there was also re-alignment.  The newly established North Division is both a blessing and a curse for this iteration of the Toronto Maple Leafs, which has been very obvious in these first eight games.

Toronto Maple Leafs Responsible Play

The Leafs have run very hot and cold against Canadian teams in recent seasons, something that was on full display in the first two games of the campaign. The added grit and offense came out to play in the first game against the Montreal Canadiens and then in true Leafs fashion completely disappeared in their next game against the Ottawa Senators.

Add into the mix the massive loss of Joe Thornton, and smaller but not insignificant loss Nick Robertson, to injury and the Leafs were looking at some early season troubles. Then something switched, and as with nearly everything good that has happened so far this season it came courtesy of John Tavares’ stick. The captain has been leading from the front;  scoring on the powerplay and assisting at a consistent rate, Tavares had raised his game befitting of this all important season after a stuttering campaign last year.

With Tavares and Marner competing for the early season points lead,  Frederik Andersen finally found his feet and strung together impressive performances against the Jets and then the Oilers before outlasting the Flames on Tuesday.

What’s more, the game on the 22nd and their first of two straight against Calgary, was not one of those high-powered offense victories for Toronto. The Leafs scored three goals, but it was the manner in which they held off the Flames in the final period that demonstrated this Toronto team is one that we haven’t seen before, and they did so in front of their backup Jack Campbell.

Against Calgary the next night, the Leafs showed the same poise late in the game, and Andersen made the big saves at crucial moments, and even a late Calgary powerplay goal that would have previously sparked a capitulation from this Leafs team, was rebuffed.

The Leafs are always going to score, and their star players are always going to have an impact in the games they win. John Tavares will always (quietly) work hard, Auston Matthews will score time and time again while Mitch Marner and William Nylander will produce assists and goals at an elite rate.

Most Leafs fan are probably not old enough to remember what it’s like to have a shutdown defense in the way the entire Toronto team performed in the first against Calgary on Tuesday night. The high percentage chances the Leafs used to give up have been whittled down, the exiting of the defensive zone is better and more efficient.

Furthermore, the decreased workload in Andersen can only spell good things going forward for a goalie who has been one of the most over-worked in the league in recent seasons.

Don’t look now but with a defense finally starting to perform close to what its elite goaltending and all-star offence does regularly, this version of the Toronto Maple Leafs might just be the best one in quite some time. For Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan, that point cannot come soon enough.