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Special Teams Are the Key to Contending for the Toronto Maple Leafs

By Michael Alexander

TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 22: Referee Michael Markovic #47 signals a delayed penalty during play between the Calgary Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 22, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Flames defeated the Maple Leafs 3-0. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 22: Referee Michael Markovic #47 signals a delayed penalty during play between the Calgary Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 22, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Flames defeated the Maple Leafs 3-0. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are obviously  a Cup Contender.

Scotty Bowman, however,  once surmised that, to be a truly great team  special teams should amount to a combined top 10 ranking in the NHL.  The Toronto Maple Leafs should therefore have that as their goal.

In the past 10 years alone, every Cup winner has been inside the top 11 for at least 1 special teams (Boston bucking the trend in 2011 the lone exception), so there’s probably something to Bowmen’s theory.

That the Leafs finished with  the 16th best power-play, and the 23rd PK in special teams in 2020-21 tells you there’s work to do, but take a closer look and you’ll see that the Buds are much closer to Scotty’s magic number of contending than at first glance.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Power-Play

Last season, Manny Maholtra was given the keys to the Toronto Maple Leafs brightest special teams only to see it sputter from a previous campaign of 23.1% – good for a tie with Tampa for 5th overall – to 20% and the aforementioned 16th ranking.

The Leafs were purring at 31.3% in the first 28 games of last season – 2nd best in the league – but then the final 28 games of the season saw the conversion rate plummet to a dismal 6.9% – good for 2nd worst in the league.

Fast forward to this season, the Leafs look to reigning AHL Coach of the Year Spencer Carbery to formulate a winning combination as Maholtra takes a backseat-driver role.

Now it’s Carbery’s job to make a once proven lethal weapon more unpredictable and multi-dimensional than before.

Through 4 games, the Leafs power-play is moving fluidly  and getting more shots in from the point and other players not named Matthews.  Currently the Leafs lead the NHL in expected goals on the power-play, and have only had Matthews for one game.

The Leafs power-play was ranked third over the last three seasons, and was incredible last year until it hit a wall. Given the huge sample size of success, and the players the team can use, there should be no problem having one of the best power-plays in the NHL.

Leafs Penalty Kill

The loss of Hyman hurt the PK, no doubt (logged most ice time last season among Leafs forwards at 1:57), but the Leafs went out and signed David Kampf who just so happens to had logged the most PK minutes among Chicago forwards last season at 2:18 (hockey-reference.com).

Kampf is a natural center, so to say the Leafs improved in this department of special teams is far from a stretch; but it’s the addition off the ice that should propel the Buds to a much-improved PK.

Dean Chynoweth, the Toronto Maple Leafs new PK coach, had been plying his trade in Carolina alongside reigning NHL Coach of the Year Rod Rod Brind’Amour as the team’s defense and PK coach for the past 3 seasons. Helping him tremendously, he had the right tools to get the job done, and in his three campaigns, he had compiled PK ranks of 3rd, 4th, and 8th league-wide. Not too shabby.

Looking at the Toronto Maple Leafs past four seasons alone, their PK had been underwhelming to say the least and they sure could use his expertise:

  • 81.4% in 2017-18, tied at 10 with Vegas and NYR (Smith).
  • 79.9% in 2018-19, three-way tie at 16 with the Bruins and Islanders (Smith).
  • 77.7% in 2019-20, sandwiched between Florida and Winnipeg at 21 (Hakstol).
  • 78.5% in 2020-21, tied with Montreal at 23 (Hakstol).

That Hakstol was unable to build on Smith’s work tells you the Leafs don’t exactly have the right tools for a highly-effective PK, but the addition of a PK center and a proven PK coach is definitely a step in the right direction.

In the small sample size of 4 games into the 2021-22 season, at 84.6 % the Leafs are  on the right track, and looking more confident at killing penalties for the first time in a long while.

Top 10 Leafs Prospects. dark. Next

This season, the Leafs new assistant coaches will do their best to implement successful strategies, and   combined with their excellent roster they will look to get the Toronto Maple Leafs into the top ten in both special teams categories.  The Leafs are already a contender, but the chance to be a great team is available to them, and having top notch special teams is the best way to get there.

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