The Toronto Maple Leafs 2021-22 season is starting to resemble the 2012-13 campaign where the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup.
Although the Toronto Maple Leafs are seemingly winning every night, it’s scary to watch as a fan. You want to see your favorite team start to peak in March, instead of November, but we should all enjoy the wonderful ride they’ve been on this past month.
After starting 2-4-1, the Leafs looked like they were still hungover from last year. The hardship of losing another playoff series in the first round felt like it was getting to the organization and that the playoffs may be out of sight this year. However, fast-forward one month and Toronto is one of the best teams in the NHL.
When the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks team was getting ready for a shortened season, they were coming off back-to-back first round losses and critics weren’t sure if they’d ever win a Stanley Cup again. Their core was still intact with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, but there was questions surrounding their goaltending and depth.
We all know how that season ended, but if we look back to that team, there’s a lot of similarities between them and this current Leafs roster.
Toronto Maple Leafs Roster Is Starting to Resemble 2012-13 Blackhawks
Ever since they came into the NHL, people have been comparing Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews to the duo of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
Marner and Kane are both elite playmakers, while Matthews and Toews are fearless leaders who drive the team’s offense. During the Blackhawks 2012-13 season, Toews and Kane were 24-years-old, which is the same age that Matthews and Marner are today.
Those two players were one of the best duo’s in the NHL that year and they continued to deliver when it counted.
During the Blackhawks magical run, they started the season with a 20-0-3 record, going unbeaten in 23 games. It was an insane start to the season, but the Leafs are actually on a similar pace to them.
After a tough few games to start the year, the Toronto Maple Leafs are 14-2 in their last 16 games. Sure, it’s not as good of a record that Chicago had, but it’s pretty impressive and their streak isn’t over yet. It’s possible that they keep this up for a few more weeks and continue to roll into the New Year.
By looking back at Chicago’s run to start the season, nobody should be worried about the Leafs “hitting their peak” too early. The Blackhawks were able to keep it up all season and used that momentum into the playoffs, even though their best hockey was arguably played at the beginning of the year.
We could compare every single player and find a similar resemblance from that Chicago team to Toronto’s current roster but the biggest comparison is the goaltending.
The Blackhawks starter was 28-year-old Corey Crawford, who had only played 122 NHL games prior to that 2012-13 season. Despite the inexperience, he finished the year with a 19-5-5 record, 1.94 GAA and .926 SV %, ultimately leading his team to a Stanley Cup.
Jack Campbell currently has a 12-4-1 record, 1.64 GAA, .946 SV% and now has 104 NHL career starts (stats: hockeyreference.com). If you think you need experienced goaltending to win a Stanley Cup, think again. Crawford did it, so why can’t Campbell?
We’re only 20-something games into the season so a lot can happen between now and then, but if you’re a Leafs fan, you should be pretty optimistic about the future of this team and the resemblance from a previous Stanley Cup winner.
The Leafs have always been known as the next Chicago Blackhawks dynasty and this may be the year where it all comes together.