The Toronto Maple Leafs are in first place in late November. That statement isn’t surprising considering the stacked lineup the Leafs have when fully healthy.
That’s the key point: When fully healthy, the Toronto Maple Leafs are among the league’s toughest teams to face. However, the Leafs have been hit with the injury bug recently. The rash of injuries has been so bad that it seems like the Marlies will be suiting up against whoever is on the schedule.
The unusually high number of injuries have tested the Leafs resilience and depth, and their record since Matthews went down has been nothing short of incredible.
The biggest injury has been captain Auston Matthews. Since going down with a mysterious ailment, the Leafs are 7-2. The club has played terribly and are last or close to last in almost all statistics over this time, however, they are #1 in save-percentage and their goaltending has allowed them to win with a decimated roster that has only scored nine 5v5 goals in the last nine games (last in the NHL by a mile in that time).
Injuries testing the Toronto Maple Leafs resilience and depth
Joining Matthews are Calle Jarnkrok, Matthew Knies, Max Pacioretty, David Kampf, Max Domi, and now, the most recent member of the MASH unit, Bobby McMann. That’s seven forwards, plus Ryan Reaves who’s serving a five-game suspension.
The bright spot amid the injuries plaguing Toronto is the defence. Fortunately, none of the Leafs blue liners have been hit with injuries, at least for now.
The current situation has been the Leafs biggest challenge this season. Thanks to their incredible goaltending, the Leafs are in a spot where they can compete with the top teams in the Eastern Conference and still hold their heads above water.
It’s worth pointing out that Wednesday night’s 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers happened because of the depleted lineup. So, we shouldn’t hold that against the Leafs. At least not for now. Hopefully, things will be much more different when the lineup is at full strength at some point this season.
If there’s a silver lining to be found amid the rash of injuries, it’s the fact that other players have gotten a chance to crack the lineup. Specifically, we’re talking about players like Fraser Minten, Alex Nylander, Nikita Grebenkin, Alex Steeves, and Nick Robertson.
Let’s start with Minten. His ascension to the big club hasn’t been without its share of ups and downs. But the fact is that he’s been a serviceable third-line centre. Meanwhile, Grebenkin and Steeves look like worker bees that have a significant amount of potential.
What about Alex Nylander?
The former first-round pick is still figuring things out under Craig Berube. But it seems like playing in Toronto with his older brother has resurrected the junior Nylander’s career. At this rate, Alex Nylander looks like he could be a solid 13th forward, perhaps even gobbling up Reaves’ spot in the lineup.
But there’s one other thing I’d like to point out. This on-the-fly audition has enabled the Leafs to see what they’ve got in the pipeline. Frankly, the Leafs could let some higher-priced players go in favour of the younger up-and-coming stars.
In fact, the Leafs could pull a mini-rebuild and not miss a beat. It will be interesting to see what happens at this year’s trade deadline as I have a feeling the Leafs brass has already intuited they have pieces to extend the team’s competitive window.