If you’ve been a Toronto Maple Leafs fan at any point in the last 10 years, you know how unreliable their defence can be. Their blunders against many teams in the NHL are all too familiar, especially in the playoffs. However, this year has been a different story. The Leafs have used their offensive and defensive capabilities to not only gain leads but to even hold them down the stretch. This can be attributed to many factors, such as new acquisitions, improved strategies on both ends of the ice, and players adapting to new playstyles.
A change as drastic as this could not have been made if it weren’t for the addition of new, versatile players, notably defenceman Zach Bogosian, right-winger Wayne Simmonds, and esteemed centre Joe Thornton. The acquisition of these players has allowed an overall improvement in the grit of the team compared to last season. As a team, the Leafs have gone from an average of 16 to 17 hits per game this season, as well as 13 to 17 blocks. Complementing their improved physicality, the Leafs have almost half as many fights as they did all last season, with 3 fights in 20 games as opposed to 8 in 70 last season.
Another notable change in the Leafs’ play is their enhanced defence. The signing of solid blue-liner, TJ Brodie, has given Morgan Rielly a long-awaited partner to play with. There is no doubt that the new additions and emergence of returning players have formed a well-rounded roster, as their goals for percentage, the ratio of goals for and total goals scored, have gone from 17th to top 5 out of all NHL teams. Their immense improvement clearly depicts their offensive successes as they are outscoring the opposing teams by a large margin. Furthermore, the current Leafs seem to be able to protect leads and confidently close out games. They went from giving up an average of over three goals a game last season to only about two and a half, going from the 6th most in the league to the 8th least. Additionally, their improvement in penalty kill—21st in the league to 16th—has undoubtedly played a large part in their success, as special teams are a huge factor in winning games.
An ongoing narrative of the 2020-2021 season has been the struggles of captain John Tavares and his linemate William Nylander. At first glance, it seems as though they have hit a lull, with both their points per game numbers dropping quite significantly from 0.95 points per game to 0.81 and 0.87 to 0.76, respectively. Though, digging a bit deeper proves otherwise; both of them actually have an increased xGF% compared to last year. Tavares going from 52% to 53% and Nylander from 52% to 54%. This metric measures the difference between expected goals for and expected goals against based on shot quality. A percentage above 50 means that a player is expected to score more than the opposition when they are on the ice. With both forwards not only remaining above 50, but also improving this number, proves that they are still outperforming their opponents and are playing at a rate where they should be producing. An explanation for the dip in production could be their improved defensive play. The duo’s corsi for percentage remains above 50%, meaning that they limit chances against their net while directing offence at the opposition’s. Ultimately, with better defence comes the sacrifice of scoring.
On the other hand, the Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner duo has only gotten better. They are both top five in league leaders for points and have made noticeable efforts to improve defensively and be more physical. Matthews currently leads the league in goals and takeaways and has doubled his hits per game from last season, going from 0.6 hits to about 1.2. Meanwhile, Marner is a key part of the Leafs penalty kill and is not far behind Matthews in takeaways, at 3rd in the league. In light of Toronto’s roster upgrades, it is important to note that their core players are still an enormous part of the team’s success.
The addition of new players to the roster and a different playing style has provided important victories to the Leafs team this 2020-2021 season. Bogosian, Simmonds, and veteran Thornton have brought the Leafs a new level of physicality, establishing the team’s presence on both the offensive and defensive end. On top of this, the Leafs’ stars have performed very well, changing their playing styles while maintaining their value. Though the Leafs’ have been successful so far, the question remains: can they keep up this momentum for the rest of the year?
Works Cited:
Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2021, from https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/team/toronto-maple-leafs/statistics
Baracchini, P. (2021, February 12). Maple leafs seeing major improvements on defense. Retrieved February 26, 2021, from https://thehockeywriters.com/maple-leafs-defensive-improvements-2020-21/
NHL news, VIDEOS, SCORES, teams, Standings, Stats. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2021, from https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/team-stats?category=miscellaneous&sort=t_pimdiff&season=2020&seasonType=reg&sortOrder=desc
NHL stats. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2021, from http://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?reportType=season&seasonFrom=20192020&seasonTo=20192020&gameType=2&filter=gamesPlayed%2Cgte%2C1&sort=a_goalsAgainstPerGame&page=0&pageSize=50
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