3 Toronto Maple Leafs That Need to Bounce Back in Second Half
The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially hit the halfway mark in their season after Thursday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are now halfway through their 2020-21 season after they finished up game 28 out of 56 on Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets. Hitting the halfway mark in the season is really important. You basically know what you’re team is by this point and how you guys can play against the other teams in your division.
Also, this season is only 56 games long instead of the standard 82 games, so hitting the halfway mark already in game 28 makes it even more crucial to see how your team is stacking up against the opponents.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, as of March 12, 2021, after playing game 28 against Winnipeg, they currently sit first place in the North Division with a record of 19-7-2 (40 points), but despite their record being amongst the best in the entire league, there are a couple of players who didn’t have the strongest first half of the season and should look to bounce back in the second half.
All stats current prior to last night’s game.
3. Ilya Mikheyev – 26 years old – LW/RW
2020-21 stats (As of game 28 against WPG) – 28 GP – 4 G – 5 A – 9 PTS – 45.4 CF%
It was hard to choose three players for this list and although I didn’t really want to include Ilya Mikheyev, I feel like at least talking about him and how his season has gone so far is at least necessary.
Mikheyev came out of the gates hot last season as he was making his NHL debut on the Toronto Maple Leafs, however, a wrist injury cut his season short and I just don’t think he’s been the same player ever since. I’m not calling him a bad player by any means, but simply looking at his stats from year one to this season, it’s just not the same.
He had an amazing start through 39 games last season as he put up 23 points as a rookie, although, fast forward a season later and he has nine points in 28 games this year. It may be due to the fact he’s now seeing all of his minutes on the third-line compared to the chunk of minutes he saw last year alongside John Tavares and Zach Hyman, but I still think that wrist injury has some part in his play.
This season his role is basically a third-line checking forward who brings speed, skill, strength, and size to that line. He makes it hard on the opponents to score whenever he and his linemates are on the ice together, and for the most part, it has worked pretty well as of late.
But going back to how he has performed so far this season, his offence is slowly getting there when you compare it to last season, but his defensive game has taken a step back this year and I honestly don’t know why other than thinking it’s his wrist. Although, when that third-line of Mikheyev, Engvall, and Hyman was united they were playing great hockey in all three zones and was the Toronto Maple Leafs’ best line for at least a week straight.
Through the first 14 games of the season, he had a very concerning four points while having a shooting percentage that was really low as he was getting chances but just couldn’t find the back of the net. In the next 14 games, he put up five points which aren’t all that great as it’s only one more point than what he had in the first 14 games, but he’s been all over the ice creating chances with his new-look line. (All Stats from Hockey-Reference.com)
2. Jimmy Vesey – 27 years old – LW/RW
2020-21 stats (As of game 28 against WPG) – 28 GP – 5 G – 2 A – 7 PTS – 45.2 CF%
Jimmy Vesey has had an interesting first half of the season, to say the least. He started on the second line alongside John Tavares and William Nylander, and then slowly worked his way down the lineup where he saw some ice-time on the third line and where he is right now on the fourth line alongside Jason Spezza and whoever else Sheldon Keefe throws on that line on some nights.
I almost forgot to he had an opportunity to play alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner at one point, but clearly, we all know how that turned out as he’s now back on the fourth line. Vesey was brought into Toronto as a bottom-six depth option on a very cheap contract as he signed a one-year $900K contract.
I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from him, but I did expect a little bit more compared to how he has been through the team’s first 28 games of the regular season. Through 27 games he currently has five goals and two assists for seven points and is averaging around 12 minutes a night.
The five goals aren’t bad by any means, especially when he’s been in the bottom-six for most of the season, but three of those five goals came in a three-game span against Edmonton and Vancouver out West.
With the trade deadline approaching soon, and the return of Wayne Simmonds nearing, Jimmy Vesey could potentially find his way out of the lineup if he doesn’t help contribute on a consistent basis from now on.
1. Frederik Andersen – 30 years old – G
2020-21 stats (As of game 28 against WPG) – 20 GP – 13 W – 5 L – 2 OTL – 2.77 GAA – .902 SV%
Finally, Frederik Andersen, and you probably knew this was coming up on the list. I don’t want to say he’s been downright terrible this season because although his numbers say he’s been a below-average goalie this year, he’s really been only bad when the Maple Leafs are down a man.
His even-strength numbers are decent, but when you take a look at his numbers on the penalty kill they could definitely use some improvement in the second half of the season.
Per Evolving-Hockey, at even-strength with at least 100 minutes played, Andersen ranks 23rd in the NHL with a .920 SV%, however, when you look at how it shapes up against the other goalies while short-handed, with at least 75 minutes played he ranks 43rd in the NHL with a dreadful .789 SV%.
That’s just unacceptable to be putting up numbers like that short-handed, he needs to be coming up with some clutch saves every once in a while when the team needs it the most.
Ever since Frederik Andersen came to Toronto, his numbers have declined every season and it’s getting worrisome at this point. In order, these are his save percentages along the years in Toronto, .918, .918, .917, .909, and .902, and his goals-against average has been 2.67, 2.81, 2.77, 2.85, and 2.77.
Next. Available and Untouchable at Trade Deadline. dark
It looks like it’s been a downwards trend for Andersen save percentage-wise and for goals against it’s just been up and down for the Danish netminder. If the Toronto Maple Leafs want to see any playoff success , he’s going to have to bounce back in the second half of the season.