4. PIMs/Penalties Drawn from Opponents
Finally, the Toronto Maple Leafs were ranked near the bottom of the league when it comes to penalty minutes drawn from the opposition.
In 2022-23, they ranked 24th in the league with only 622 PIMs taken by their opponents. In addition, the 246 total power play opportunities they received put them in the bottom half of the league.
With the speed and prolific scoring abilities of the Leafs players, it is actually quite surprising that they hadn’t drawn more penalties than they have been.
In addition, their team leader in drawing penalties from the opposing team from last year was Michael Bunting, who is now no longer with the team.
This has created an even bigger void for the team as it could ultimately affect the number of power plays the Leafs would end up getting.
With a power play that ranked second in the entire league last season, it would all mean nothing if they start losing more opportunities to play with the man advantage.
Consequently, it will be important for the Leafs to play more aggressively this year and drive the net in order to draw more penalties from their opposition.
This is analogous to that of basketball of a player driving to the hoop to draw a foul so that they can get to the free throw line.
That way, the Leafs can then take full advantage by throwing out their lethal power play on their opponent as much as possible as a result.
(All stats from NHL.com and Moneypuck.com). Overall, if the Leafs can address these four particular aspects of their game this season, they may end up finding themselves be even more successful and effective than before. Perhaps even enough to propel them further in their quest for the Stanley Cup.