Okay, confession time. The Maple Leafs roster has been my favorite all season. No, it’s not perfect. But that’s okay. It doesn’t need to be. Not when you have a Big Four to go with an ideal mixture of youth and experience.
And it’s why I like the Maple Leafs so much if only they can sneak in and wreak havoc during the NHL Playoffs. I’ve often compared the Maple Leafs to the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. Once upon a time a dominant force in the league, only to have never done much since.
Just as Cleveland had never won an AFC Championship, the Maple Leafs are searching for their first-ever Eastern Conference Championship since the expansion era kicked off. But this season, it’s been more than just a different vibe.
For one, their best player has had a modest season by his standards, with just 74 points and 30 goals through 63 games as of Friday night. That leaves Mitch Marner and William Nylander as the top two point producers. And it wouldn’t surprise me if Matthews embarked on a hot streak and Marner and Nylander kept up their steady play.
Maple Leafs have been reliable offensively all season
You look at that group of four, which includes John Tavares, and it screams experience, with Tavares just about to complete his age-34 season. Behind Tavares, you got Matthew Knies, who may end the year as a 30-goal scorer.
I’m going down the line here, but Morgan Rielly is next, and he’s been more than reliable as a playmaker. And the rest of Toronto’s middling points producers have experience on their side, too. Throw in names like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Chris Tanev, Jani Hakanpaa, Jake McCabe, and Chris Tanev, and you couldn’t ask for a more experienced defensive rotation.
Yeah, they’re all over 30, but the Leafs wouldn’t be anywhere near the No. 1 team in the Atlantic Division if they were a group on the decline. They haven’t been, so that’s excellent news for Leafs fans and bad news for the league.
Then there’s the goaltending duo, featuring the older Anthony Stolarz and younger Joseph Woll. While Woll has come into his own, Stolarz has been on fire, with a 0.922 save percentage, a 2.28 GAA, and two shutouts. Not to mention, his quality start percentage of 0.645.
Maple Leafs won’t be the disappointments many are expecting
Yeah, it’s tough to get excited about a Maple Leafs team that has a recent history of making the playoffs following a stellar regular season, only to mess everything up. Hey, it’s not happening this year. The best player on the team hasn’t been the best player on the team, and that’s not a bad thing.
Their defensive rotation has too much NHL experience and the talent to boast, and their goaltending duo has been one of the best in hockey. Plus, they have a former Stanley Cup Champion as the bench boss in Craig Berube.
The Leafs find themselves in a can’t-lose situation, and don’t be surprised when they end up cruising through the playoffs. Especially in the first round, where a series against the surprising Ottawa Senators looks like an outright lock.