Toronto Maple Leafs Are Cup Favorites, Have World’s Best Player
By James Tanner
The Toronto Maple Leafs played the Detroit Red Wings and defeated them 4-2.
This was a terrible game for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but good teams win when they have bad games.
That is what makes them good.
When Auston Matthews is playing like this, when he’s good for a goal-per-game, and you simultaneously have Mitch Marner working towards his first Hart Trophy, you will win a lot of games just by showing up.
Matt Murray continued his revival, and that was about all there is to say about that.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Detroit Red Wings
Rasmus Sandin had a two-point night, including his first goal of the year.
That is about the best thing you can say about anyone on the Leafs blue-line last night, as they were completely destroyed in every metric.
Mac Hollowell had his first NHL point, an assist. Hopefully that is all he remembers about this game.
Do we really think you can take $18 million and 3 x star players off the blue-line and not feel it? It’s impressive the Leafs are winning, but that’s a massive hole in their lineup and while Sandin and Liljegren are partially going to fill it, Holl and Giordano are just too slow to be effective.
People talk about it like McDavid already has the Hart locked up this year.
— Editor in Leaf (@EditorinLeaf) November 29, 2022
He is 68th in 5v5 scoring and his team sucks.
In a week when Mitch Marner leads the NHL in 5v5 scoring, I'll tell you who should win the Hart.
Hopefully the Leafs are not tricked by the good results they are getting and they understand that Gio is a 3rd pairing guy and Holl needs to be off the team.
Mitch Marner has a 17 game point streak after scoring a sweet goal last night. He is now only 4 points back from the 5v5 scoring lead. He’s only 11 off the total lead, and he’s closing fast.
If you add in his insane run after returning from injury last season, and the fact that he may or may not be the NHL’s premier defensive forward, then the MVP talk can’t start up soon enough.
A .688 points percentage for a team that’s best player didn’t start scoring at 5v5 until the last week or so, whose top four defenseman have all missed significant time, and who have had to use their 4th string goalie for ten games out of 21 is the NHL equivalent of climbing Mount Everest with a pair of sandals and some regrettable fluorescent bike shorts from the 80s.
Best team in the NHL?
Maybe try one of the best teams ever.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are to being a Stanley Cup favorite right now as Everything Everywhere All at Once is to winning the Best Picture Oscar early next year.
That is a film so good you can’t imagine there being another movie anywhere on it’s level in the same year. It would be inconceivable.
Power Ranking the NHL's Canadian Teams. dark. Next
This is the year of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tell your friends.
Right now, the Leafs are the NHL’s best team and Mitch Marner is the best hockey player alive.