Category Archives: Toronto Maple Leafs

General, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Toronto Maple Leafs

Oh, Canada: How A Nation’s Two Banner Franchises, On Opposite Ends of the Standings, Can BOTH Be In Trouble Already

By ·

On the eve of their first meeting of the 2017/2018 regular season, the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs are both in trouble. Period. That the trouble doesn’t make itself smack-you-in-the-lips apparent, does not mean that the trouble isn’t there.

Let’s start with Montreal, where the problem IS smack-you-in-the-lips apparent: the Habs can’t score. They’ve generated four goals (aside from a Jonathan Drouin shootout winner) in four games — good for last in the NHL. For a short time, they shared that mark with San Jose; perhaps the worst thing about that being that San Jose had only played two games at the time. They would have needed to be shut out in back-to-back games for those numbers to remain the way they were.

Carey Price — in seasons past, playing well enough to mostly mask the Canadiens’ offensive struggles — has played more than a few steps behind by the numbers. In facing around 27 shots per game, Price has allowed 11 goals, sporting a 3.30 GAA and a save percentage of sub-.900. A markedly slow start for an all-world goaltender with a career GAA nearly a full point below where it currently sits.

What is painfully clear to Habs fans is this: when Price doesn’t play perfect hockey, the offense has not only not been able to bail them out. The offensive output thusfar has DEMANDED that Price play perfect hockey, which he has not done. As a result, Montreal is off to a 1-3 start and sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

On the other side, there are the young, run-and-gun Toronto Maple Leafs: 3-1, out to the early Atlantic division lead, and scoring at an incredible pace.

How can this team also be in trouble?

“Run-and-gun” was not a randomly-chosen phrase; the Leafs are nearly atop the league in goal-scoring, having netted 22 in four games (four more than the nearest Eastern Conference opponent). They are also tied for fourth place in terms of most goals allowed. It adds up to an AVERAGE of four goals allowed per game; indeed, the Leafs have played only one game where they have allowed fewer than three. On an offense that has already generated games of 8- and 7-goals, this may seem like less of a problem than Montreal’s inability to score. But what happens when the goals *aren’t* there?

When they aren’t there, the New Jersey game happens: a 6-3 loss to a team that they should beat, where they allowed twice as many goals as they scored, despite nearly doubling their opponent in shots.

Since the lockout-shortened 2012/13 season, teams that lead the league in goal scoring have averaged 3.29 goals per game. The 16/17 Penguins were the outlier, having averaged 3.43 last season. Toronto is currently averaging a ridiculous 5.5 goals per game — a pace that we know from empirical evidence is not sustainable. Not since the 2009/10 Capitals has a team even topped 3.5 over an entire season, and even that team did not come close to even a full 4.

If we are overly-friendly to this year’s Leafs, and meet in the middle between their current pace of 5.5 and the 2009/10 Capitals pace of 3.87, the Leafs would average 4.69 goals per game. If we reduce that number to the scoring leader’s average since the Lockout, it still sits at 4.4. Those paces would meet or exceed the highest in modern history — again, paces which we know are not sustainable in the modern NHL. While that may put a smile on the faces of Leafs Nation, don’t forget: Toronto is ALLOWING four per game. Therein lies the problem: the Leafs can’t keep the puck out of their own net; a persistent problem dating back well beyond this season.

Freddie Andersen has been, in a word, awful this season. Facing 31 shots a game (therefore getting little help from the team in front of him), Andersen has allowed all 16 of Toronto’s goals against, sitting with a GAA just under 4 and a save percentage barely north of .870. While the offensive players have enjoyed a banner year to this point, the defense has at times looked completely lost and hung their goaltender out to dry. By the same token, at times, the defense has mostly done their job, and Andersen has simply not been able to come up with saves. The Leafs are allowing far too many shots on their goaltender, and their goaltender is allowing far too many to light the lamp behind him.

So, the question is begged: which problem would you rather have?
Would you rather struggle to score goals, or score plenty and struggle to keep other teams from scoring as well?
More to the point: would you rather be Montreal or Toronto, RIGHT NOW?

My answer came in digging a little deeper.

As we have mentioned, Andersen (who has played every second of the Leafs season so far) has faced just over 31 shots per game, where Price has faced 27 (and if you add in the short amount of work for Montoya, the team allows 29 shots per game total so far). That’s not a big difference — but any good armchair GM would take the lesser of those two numbers.

Three of Toronto’s four games have seen them allow 30 shots — two of those, allowing at least 35. After allowing a ridiculous 45 shots in their opening game, Montreal has yet to allow another opponent to get to 26.

It may seem foolish to compare the two teams on any level offensively, but would it surprise you to learn that Toronto is only outshooting Montreal by less than three shots per game? While the Leafs average 41.5 shots per game, Montreal is within striking distance at 38.8. In this light, Montreal’s problem is less about generating offense, and more about finishing their opportunities. Montreal is shooting at a ridiculously-low 2.58% — lower than any roster player to score a goal for them last season aside from one (Alexei Emelin). Bringing their shooting percentage up to last season’s 9%, a pace of 38.8 shots/game results in 3.5 goals/game. Even halving that percentage would be an upgrade that could be worked with.

There are a few points to be made here. Neither team is as good or as bad as they seem, as we’ve traversed less than 5% of the regular season. The Leafs are not going to finish with 60 wins any more than the Habs will finish with 60 losses. And both teams have significant reason to be concerned, no matter what the early standings say.

As far as which problem I would rather have and which team I would rather be? I can say a few things for sure. Having a +6 goal differential after four games would be nice to have — except if it took me 22 goals to get there. I’d rather have to focus on finishing my own chances, than to worry about whether my goaltender is going to make the next save. I’d rather give up the fewest shots against that I possibly can, and I’d rather have nowhere but up to go, than nowhere but down.

Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, General, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets

2016 NHL Entry Draft – First Round

By ·

Here are the first 30 selections in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft

PICK – TEAM – PLAYER DRAFTED – TEAM DRAFTED PLAYER PLAYED FOR

1 – TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS – Auston Matthews (ZSC Lions, NLA)
2 – WINNIPEG JETS – Patrik Laine (Tappara, SM-Liiga)
3 – COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS – Pierre-Luc Dubois (Cape Breton, QMJHL)
4 – EDMONTON OILERS – Jesse Pulijujarvi (Karpat, SM-Liiga)
5 – VANCOUVER CANUCKS – Olli Juolevi (London, OHL)
6 – CALGARY FLAMES – Matthew Tkachuk (London, OHL)
7 – ARIZONA COYOTES – Clayton Keller (US NDTP, USHL)
8 – BUFFALO SABRES – Alexander Nylander (Mississauga, OHL)
9 – MONTREAL CANADIENS – Mikhail Sergachev (Windsor, OHL)
10 – COLORADO AVALANCHE – Tyson Jost (Pentiction, BCHL)
11 – OTTAWA SENATORS – Logan Brown (Windsor, OHL) – (from New Jersey) (Traded Pk 12 ’16 to NJ for Pk 11 ’16, Pk 80 ’16)
12 – NEW JERSEY DEVILS – Michael McLeod (Mississauga, OHL) – (from Ottawa) (Traded Pk 11 ’16, Pk 80 ’16 to OTT for Pk 12 ’16)
13 – CAROLINA HURRICANES – Jake Bean (Calgary, WHL)
14 – BOSTON BRUINS – Charles McAvoy (Boston, NCAA H-East)
15 – MINNESOTA WILD – Luke Kunin (Wisconsin, NCAA Big 10)
16 – ARIZONA COYOTES – Jakob Chychrun (Sarnia, OHL) – (from Detroit) (Traded Joe Vitale, Pk 53 ’16, Pk 20 ’16 to DET for Pavel Datsyuk, Pk 16 ’16)
17 – NASHVILLE PREDATORS – Dante Fabbro (Pentiction, BCHL)
18 – WINNIPEG JETS – Logan Stanley (Windsor, OHL) – (from Philadelphia) (Traded Pk 22 ’16 and Pk 36 ’16 to PHI for Pk 18 ’16 and Pk 79 ’16)
19 – NEW YORK ISLANDERS – Kieffer Bellows (US NDTP, USHL)
20 – DETROIT RED WINGS – Dennis Cholowski (Chilliwack, BCHL) (from Arizona) (Traded Pavel Datsyuk, Pk 16 ’16 to ARZ for Joe Vitale, Pk 53 ’16, Pk 20 ’16)
21 – CAROLINA HURRICANES – Julien Gauthier (Val-d’Or, QMJHL)
22 – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – German Rubtsov (RUS U18, MHL) – (from Winnipeg) (Traded Pk 18 ’16 and Pk 79 ’16 to WPG for Pk 22 ’16, Pk 36 ’16)
23 – FLORIDA PANTHERS – Henrik Borgstrom (HIFK Jr., FIN-Jr.)
24 – ANAHEIM DUCKS – Max Jones (London, OHL)
25 – DALLAS STARS – Riley Tufte (Fargo Force, USHL)
26 – ST. LOUIS BLUES – Tage Thompson (U-CONN, NCAA H-East) (from Washington) (Traded Pk 28 ’16 to STL for Pk 26 ’16, Pk 87 ’16)
27 – TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING – Brett Howden (Moosejaw, WHL)
28 – WASHINGTON CAPITALS – Lucas Johansen (Kelowna, WHL) (from St. Louis) (Traded Pk 26 ’16 to WSH for Pk 28 ’16, Pk 87 ’16)
29 – BOSTON BRUINS – Trent Frederic (USA U18, USHL)
30 – ANAHEIM DUCKS – Sam Steel, (Regina, WHL)

Toronto Maple Leafs

Will #91 Stammer His Way Home?

By ·

On July 1, the biggest Free Agency in recent hockey history, Steven Stamkos, heads home and becomes the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs. With the Leafs also holding the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft, expected to be American Auston Matthews, they could potentially have a very potent forward core.

Obtaining Steven Stamkos is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but in the case of the Leafs, is it a case of bad timing?

Continue reading →

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs Finally Win A Thing!!

By ·

The Toronto Maple Leafs are your winners of the 2016 NHL Draft Lottery, meaning that they have the first overall pick, to be held in Buffalo on June 24-25. The likely first pick, will be Auston Matthews, who last applied his trade, for the Zurich HSC Lions. The Winnipeg Jets won the number #2 slot, with the Columbus Blue Jackets, holding #3. Edmonton fell to #4, after winning last year’s lottery.

So what does this mean for the draft?

First things first, this will fast track Toronto’s re-build in the forward sense by adding Matthews. He could slot into the Leafs’ top 6-9 in the C slot, meaning it could very well be the end of Tyler Bozak in the Air Canada Centre. Also, obtaining Matthews, as well as re-signing Nazem Kadri, could lead to Brendan Shanahan, not pursuing pending UFA Steven Stamkos on July 1, and instead using the cap to fill other needs on the roster.

But what if the Leafs trade the pick?

Well, it’s an option. Especially considering that Matthews is from Arizona. The Coyotes could try and move up from their current position (7) in the draft, to #1, allowing them to draft their hometown boy, and still leave the Leafs with two first round picks, thanks to the Phil Kessel trade and the Penguins making the playoffs. The Oilers (4) and the Flames (6), are also rumoured to be shopping their top picks, and a possible trade with the Leafs could happen, with both the Oilers and Flames having assets on their roster, that Toronto would love to have on their re-building roster.

If the Leafs draft Auston Matthews, will this mean that Steven Stamkos plays in the Blue and White next season?

Well.. With Matthews, Kadri, and Bozak, the Leafs have the middle sorted, and with Stamkos’ displeasure of playing wing, either one of the three Centres move out wide, or move out of Toronto, with Bozak being the most likely. If Bozak does move, they may have to move a Joffrey Lupul-type contract as well, in order to fit the asking price that Stamkos will ask, into the cap. A core of Stamkos, Kadri and Matthews, does sound better, and it takes the pressure off Matthews when he debuts. But, whether the Leafs decide to invest in the best Free Agent on the market, who just happens to be from Toronto, remains to be seen.

Does Toronto even need Stamkos?

No. They don’t need him. Sure, every franchise would love Steven Stamkos on their roster. But do the Leafs need him? At this point of their program, where the focus is on re-building and squad structure, then the answer is no. Stamkos is entering the prime of his NHL career, and could potentially be wasted on the Leafs, whilst the young squad around him builds for the 2-3 years it will take before they reach their prime. Also, if they throw all their cap in the Stamkos basket, then their more important needs of defense and goaltending, go neglected again. Unless Stamkos can play in net. I mean, he is that good as a player, but as a Goalie?

What will the Leafs do?

They will draft Auston Matthews with the first overall pick in the draft. If they do trade a pick, it will be the pick that they received from Pittsburgh. Matthews is on Jack Eichel levels of ability, and will instantly inject something into the Leafs’ lineup, that they haven’t seen in the franchise in a long time. As for Stamkos, well, as fate could have it, Pavel Datsyuk is verging on retiring and returning to Russia, leaving the Detroit Red Wings with a massive hole to fill in at Centre. Brad Richards probably won’t be re-signed, especially at the $3 million he signed for this season, and Darren Helm could be on the way out also. Even though the Wings will have to re-sign Petr Mrazek, as fate could have it, Steven Stamkos could sign for the franchise, in which his current GM, Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman, captained to three Stanley Cups.

Boston Bruins, Historical Hockey, Toronto Maple Leafs

Today is the Anniversary of the First All Star Game and Jersey Retirement.

By ·

Sure, it’s Valentine’s Day. But today mark’s the anniversary of the Ace Bailey Benefit Game, and essentially, the first All Star Game. On February 14, 1934 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto in front of 14,074 spectators watched The Toronto Maple Leafs defeat a team comprised of the top players from the rest of the league. The final score was 7-3, for The Leafs.

NHLallstarsbailey

This game was not for league revenue, rather charity. ShoreBailey14Feb1934 Bailey’s career ended due a violent hit by Eddie Shore earlier in the 1933–34 season. Bailey suffered a near fatal skull fracture, but recovered enough to participate in the benefit game by shaking the hands and presenting gifts to all of the participating players. When nearing Shore, the crowd is said to have silenced. Bailey would extend his hand to Shore, and the crowd is said to have burst into a roar of approval.

CaptureDuring the ceremonies, The Maple Leafs stated that no player on the team would wear Bailey’s number 6 again. This marks the first time in NHL history that a team retired a player’s sweater number.

The game generated $20,909 in money for Bailey, and he would subsequently receive an additional $6,000 from the Boston Bruins.

For more information, Wikipedia has an excellent amount of information. Click here.

Here is a short little documentary, as well.

Toronto Maple Leafs

2015 NHL Entry Draft – Toronto Maple Leafs

By ·

INS: Mitch Marner (Pick 4, London, OHL), Travis Dermott (Pick 34, Erie, OHL), Jeremy Bracco (Pick 61, USA U18, USHL), Andrew Nielsen (Pick 65, Lethbridge, WHL), Martins Dzierkals (68, Riga 2, RUS-JR.), Jesper Lindgren (Pick 95, Modo Jr., SWE-JR.), Dmytro Timashov (Pick 125, Quebec, QMJHL), Stephen Desrocher (Pick Pick 155, Oshawa, OHL), Nikita Korostelev (Pick 185, Sarnia, OHL), Martin Marincin (Edmonton Oilers)

OUTS: Brad Ross (Edmonton Oilers)

Mike Babcock’s first draft as Leafs head coach has turned out ot be very successful. Dermott is a steal at 34 and gives the Leafs a nice prospect D and Marner is a great pick at 4. Add in Marincin to your prospect D core and fans in Toronto have reason to get excited about their back end future.

2015 DRAFT RATING: A-

Toronto Maple Leafs

2014 NHL Entry Draft – Toronto Maple Leafs

By ·

These are the players drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft

Round – Pick – Player Chosen – Junior/Club/College Team

ROUND 1 – PICK 8 – William Nylander – Modo (SWE)
ROUND 3 – PICK 68 – Rinat Valiev – Kootenay (WHL)
ROUND 4 – PICK 103 – John Piccinich – Youngstown (USHL)
ROUND 5 – PICK 128 – Dakota Joshua – Sioux Falls (USHL)
ROUND 6 – PICK 158 – Nolan Vesey – South Shore (USPHL PRE.)
ROUND 7 – PICK 188 – Pierre Engvall – Frolunda Jr. (SWE-JR.)

Toronto Maple Leafs

2013-2014 Toronto Maple Leafs

By ·

It has been a season full of ups and downs for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs started the season off pretty good and didnt look like the were doing too bad, in fact they were looking like the 2012-2013 Leafs. The ones that made the playoffs. The Leafs were healthy than and didnt have any affecting injuries. Than David Bolland got injured after a game against the Vancouver Canucks where Matt Kassian’s skate cut his leg, similar to Erik Karlsson’s injury that kept him out for most of the season, but not as serious as Karlsson’s. Bolland was a key player on the team but the Leafs stood up and didn’t let that get in their way, as they continued to fight their way through and look like another playoff bound team. Than Tyler Bozak got injured. His injury was a big one to us because he was our #1 center and he could win a lot of our faceoffs, not to mention the crazy chemistry he has with Phil Kessel. Than they starter to look like they were out of gas and didn’t play so well, they went 1-7 once in fact. This wasn’t good for them because this was the time where HBO 24/7 came in.

24/7 is the show where they go behind the scenes of both teams that play at the Winter Classic, which are the Leafs and Red Wings. A lot of Leafs fans got to see how the buds lived their lives and how they were in the locker room. They were not so good during this program as they won about 3 games while the spotlight was on them. Than the Winter Classic came in, the Leafs and Red Wings were finally getting ready to square off. And the scene could not have been any better. It was a perfect snowy afternoon in Detroit as the two teams took to battle. This one looked like it was going to overtime or shootout from the beginning, which is what happened. And this is when Tyler Bozak made an impact in his first game back. He was the one that scored the shootout winner to end an amazing game. From this point the Leafs looked better than before. They started playing like they really wanted it and won games. They even beat the Boston Bruins. The Bruins that sent them out of Boston in a horrible way in last years playoffs. As of right now, January 22nd. They have just defeated the Colorado Avalanche and are on a 6 game winning streak, looking to make it 7 games when they face the Dallas Stars in their next game.

Every Leaf fan can agree that we have a good team that can make it far in the playoffs. Even though we are young, our young players are the one that make an impact. The players like Jake Gardiner, Morgan Reilly, and Nazem Kadri. The list can go on but those are some key players. And even with some of our older players like Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, and James Van Reimsdyk. And don’t forget our captain Dion Phaneuf that has been great for us. Our goalies have been in an awkward situation. Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer are both playing like #1 goalies but we all know that only one of them is the Leafs’ starter. And a lot of people are pointing out Jonathan Bernier as the starter. He is the newly acquired Quebec goalie from the LA Kings that we got, and we gave up Ben Scrivens, Matt Frattin, and some picks.

Hopefully the Leafs can continue like they are playing right now and make the playoffs, because Toronto strives off of the Leafs and playoff hockey. Hockey is a game of skill and determination, and every Leaf fan will find out how much of that skill and determination the Leafs are using, come playoff time.

On a side note, this was my first article for Bored Hockey Fan. I would greatly appreciate if you guys could leave your honest opinion and any helpful criticism is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading and look forward to my next articles!

Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs

Buffalo Sabres/Toronto Maple Leafs pre-season brawl

By ·

Rivalries.  You know you’re going to have an intense game when two teams who genuinely don’t like each other face off.

The Sabres and the Maple Leafs are rivals.  Only about a 90 minute drive separate First Niagara Center from Air Canada Center, and there are generally just as many Leafs fans at the FNC when the teams play each other there as there are Sabres fans.  So, you expect a fierce game when these two teams meet – but you generally don’t expect it in a pre-season game.

Jaime Devane and Corey Tropp decided to drop the gloves in the third period of Sunday night’s exhibition, which led to Tropp smashing the back of his head against the ice.  The Sabres sent out enforcer John Scott on the next play, who threatened to “jump” Phil Kessel – at least, that’s what Kessel says.

Here’s the video, I’ll update you on any discipline handed down by the NHL if I hear anything.

[iframe src=”http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/embed?playlist=446674″ frameborder=”0″ width=”640″ height=”395″]

Toronto Maple Leafs

2013 NHL Entry Draft – Toronto Maple Leafs

By ·

Here is a look at whom the Toronto Maple Leafs drafted in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, and also any trades they may have partaken in during the draft.

Round – Pick – Player Chosen (position in brackets) – Nationality – Junior/Club/College Team

1 – 21 – Frederik Gauthier (C) – Canada – Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)
3 – 82 – Carter Verhaeghe (C) – Canada – Niagara IceDogs (OHL)
5 – 142 – Fabrice Herzog  (RW) – Switzerland – Zug U20 (Junioren Elite A)
6 – 172 – Antoine Bibeau (G) – Canada – Prince Edward Island Rockets (QMJHL)
7 – 202 – Andreas Johnson (LW) Sweden – Frolunda J20 (SuperElit)

TRADES

Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Dave Bolland (C) from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for 2013 2nd Rd pick, 2013 4th Rd pick and 2014 4th Rd pick