The Maple Leafs, if nothing goes wrong, are legitimate contenders to win the Stanley Cup. And to be frank, I wouldn’t put it past them, given their sheer firepower offensively with more than enough defense.
But when you rank the 32-team league by one specific category, it further showcases how dangerous the Leafs will be once the postseason rolls around. The power play has been the team’s strength all season, and if that doesn’t change when half the league goes home for the summer, I’d be scared of the Maple Leafs.
Check out where they stand when compared to the rest of the league, and look at who they’re behind. Very, very few playoff-caliber teams as of Sunday afternoon.
Where do the Maple Leafs rank among the NHL in power play percentage?
- Vegas Golden Knights: 30.06
- Winnipeg Jets: 29.33
- Detroit Red Wings: 28.11
- New Jersey Devils: 28.02
- Toronto Maple Leafs: 25.98
- Edmonton Oilers: 25.39
- Tampa Bay Lightning: 24.77
- Colorado Avalanche: 24.77
- Pittsburgh Penguins: 24.76
- Chicago Blackhawks: 24.43
- Florida Panthers: 23.89
- Ottawa Senators: 23.36
- Washington Capitals: 22.82
- Vancouver Canucks: 22.82
- Dallas Stars: 22.37
- Utah Hockey Club: 22.22
- St. Louis Blues: 21.74
- Montreal Canadiens: 20.91
- Nashville Predators: 20.85
- Calgary Flames: 20.64
- Minnesota Wild: 20.31
- Carolina Hurricanes: 18.88
- Columbus Blue Jackets: 18.86
- San Jose Sharks: 18.69
- Buffalo Sabres: 18.52
- Seattle Kraken: 18.22
- New York Rangers: 17.17
- Los Angeles Kings: 16.11
- Boston Bruins: 15.07
- Philadelphia Flyers: 14.85
- New York Islanders: 12.7
- Anaheim Ducks: 12.38
Not only are the Maple Leafs fifth in the NHL here, they’re behind just one playoff team in the Eastern Conference: the New Jersey Devils. Yeah, the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets are dominating the power play, but the point here is that the Maple Leafs have a massive advantage over almost every one of the top eight teams in the conference. And if they can utilize it, expect them to be competitive every time they skate onto the ice.
Maple Leafs are light years ahead of a few other playoff contenders
Looking at the chart, the Tampa Bay Lightning clock in next as far as Eastern Conference playoff contenders go at seven. That’s the only other team in the top 10 here, as the Panthers are next, coming in 11th.
Other Eastern Conference teams in the top 16 include the Ottawa Senators, and Washington Capitals, so six out of the eight teams who either clinched or are in the hunt. This should be encouraging for Maple Leafs fans, especially when you consider their power play is over three percent better than Washington’s.
So, if the Maple Leafs are going to fare better this season than they have in most preceding years, they need to draw penalties, and a lot of them. Should that happen, expect perhaps some shorter series, as long as they continue to bring their A-game. But, those short series will fall in the Leafs favor.