Counting to Five is Hard for the Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs shouldn’t be shy to look down at their hands when the time comes for a line change. Use the fingers boys. Count to five.

That’s because the Toronto Maple Leafs can’t help but continue to pick up ‘too many men on the ice’ penalties.

For the second time in less than a week, the Leafs picked a minor penalty Tuesday for struggling to keep the correct number of skaters on the ice.

With just over five seconds remaining in regulation, the Leafs got caught making the same error that cost them in their game against Chicago.

Counting to Five is Hard for the Toronto Maple Leafs

While the broadcast team on TSN suggested it may not be a penalty, the referees will blow it down every time in the NHL when a player steps on the ice and plays the puck with six skaters on the ice. It was the correct assessment by the referees and a bad look for the Leafs.

What is “too many men on the ice” you wonder? It is covered under the NHL’s Rule 74.1.

While both recent line changes saw the Leafs get caught with the exchange happening within five-feet, the important wording is “out of the play before the change is made.”

What may make this confusing is that the play took place by the Leafs bench. If the player joining the action, in this case William Nylander, didn’t immediately take control of the puck, the play would have continued without issue.

That’s because by Nylander engaging so close to the exiting player, both are seen to be a part of the play.

For the Leafs, this was their eighth violation of the rule. To help understand how that number is far too high, consider that the team has won five regulation wins this season.

Though there is no correlation between the numbers, it is head scratching to think that the Maple Leafs are averaging 1.6 too many men penalties for each regulation win.

This isn’t new for the Buds. They led the league in picking up this penalty in 2022 as well. This is a problem for Toronto and one that needs to be addressed by coach Sheldon Keefe. Teams don’t normally (or ever) practice line changes, but maybe they need to.

The Maple Leafs must be better and more diligent. Hopefully, they manage to figure out their line changes and realize that six is one too many.