Toronto Maple Leafs 2021-22 Regular Season Predictions
The Toronto Maple Leafs are due for some good luck.
Of all things people have written about the Toronto Maple Leafs loss to the Montreal Canadiens last year, only one is true: the team got unlucky.
The Leafs lost two playoff series over nine months and 12 games in which they posted the better expected-goals rating in 11 straight games.
The fact that they lost was so improbable it’s not even worth worrying about. Anyone whose ever had their aces cracked in poker knows what I’m talking about, and anyone who disputes this is too emotional to trust.
So what happens when you get really unlucky? You put your head down and wait till the sample size is big enough to normalize everything. You think Mitch Marner is really a zero percent playoff shooter? You don’t think Auston Matthew’s wrist injury was a major factor in his inability to score against Montreal? Get real.
This year is all about the Toronto Maple Leafs, so here are some predictions.
2021-22 Toronto Maple Leafs Predictions
The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to win the Atlantic, and run away with the President’s Trophy. They will be aided and abetted by the fact that after two straight Cup Runs, Tampa doesn’t care too much about the regular season.
Just before Christmas we’ll be inundated with “are the Leafs for real?” articles and even more “we already knew they were a good regular season team but show us in the playoffs” articles.
Auston Matthews will score over 70 goals and he and Mitch Marner will be the 3rd and 4th Leafs to ever crack 100 points. One of them will win the scoring title and the other is going to lead the league in goals by about 15 or 20 and will be the first Leafs player to win the award since 1956.
I also predict that Jack Campbell will win the Vezina award and that Nikita Gusev will be a regular for the Leafs.
Nick Robertson will dominate the AHL until injuries force him into the Leafs lineup where he dominates. Rasmus Sandin will push Justin Holl to the third pairing.
And of course, like I have predicted four years straight, the Toronto Maple Leafs will make the Stanley Cup Final. Last year I went rouge and predicted they’d lose to the Sabres in the final, which was probably my finest hour as a hockey writer.
Next. Did the Leafs Just Get a Top Line Winger for Free?. dark
This year I predict that the Leafs will win the Stanley Cup. I don’t know what I will celebrate more, the winning, or Kyle Dubas getting a lifetime contract to be the Leafs GM. I know all this just seems like a fantasy, but this team is incredible and is very, very underrated right now.
Luck will balance out and the Leafs will be the NHL’s best team.
Bonus Prediction: Mitch Marner Conn Smythe Trophy Winner.