Are There Any Reasons for Optimism Regarding the Toronto Maple Leafs?

The Toronto Maple Leafs are having another good season so far. They are in the Atlantic Division's Top 3, going toe-to-to with the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, the latter being the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup Champions. They have the fifth-best record in the entire league; other than the Florida teams, only the Colorado Avalanche and the Carolina Hurricanes have better records. Speaking of the top five, the Leafs are in that group in a lot of categories: they are third in GFA (Goals For Average) with 3.65, they have the top Power Play in the entire league at 30%, and they Penalty Kill percentage is 4th overall at 85%. With all of that, I ask, "Are there any reasons for optimism for this team?"

Honestly...I can't really answer that.

It's a yes or no question, but each answer will come with a "but" after it. That's what life is like for fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Any optimism is warranted, but has caveats. Any pessimism is warranted, but has caveats. The Leafs have good seasons yearly; they've made the playoffs in their last five straight seasons, and it looks like a sixth straight is inevitable. However, every Leafs fan asks the same question every year: "When will the other shoe drop?," and when it is asked, the answer comes at the same time: the playoffs. This team hasn't won a series since 2004 (only the Panthers have gone longer), and each of the last six postseasons have only increased the pessimism among Leafs fans. Last year had to have been the most painful; running away with the North Division and going up 3-1 over the Montréal Canadiens, but losing the next three.

Even this season hasn't brought too much optimism, mainly because of how things have played out in certain scenarios. So many blown leads, and nearly had another one: leads of 6-1 and 7-2 in Detroit against the Red Wings nearly resulting in the Wings coming close to tying the game, resulting in the Leafs having to score ten to win! Even with all of that, the Leafs have stayed above ground throughout, and still have a pretty good chance to surpass both Florida teams in the standings.

No surprise, Auston Matthews (my favorite player on the Leafs) is leading the way. 37 goals. He is leading the league in goals once again, and could be on his way to his second straight Rocket Richard Trophy; Matthews finished the 2020-21 season with 41 goals. It's expected that Matthews will make noise during the regular season, but what has Leafs fans pessimistic is his playoff performances. While Matthews is averaging a point per game in the regular season, he hasn't done that in the playoffs. In his career, Matthews has 24 playoff points (13 G/11 A) in 32 games; and only scored once in the series against the Canadiens. Now I am not saying he should tear it up and get hat tricks in every playoff game, but those numbers need to improve.

Every star player has an equally talented right-hand player, and in the case of Auston Matthews, it's Mitch Marner. Marner is second on the team in points with 54, and is also second on the team in goals with 21, though that is mostly due to his recent scoring tear. It includes the 10-7 extravaganza, which saw Marner rack up six points--four of them being goals, including a natural hat trick in the 2nd period. Both Matthews and Marner are quite good, but Marner has his playoff problems as well. At least Matthews has some good playoff moments. The same cannot be said for Marner; only 25 playoff points in 32 games played. Not only has Marner only scored five playoff goals, he hasn't scored one in his last EIGHTEEN playoff games! Marner's last goal came in Game One of the 2019 series against the Bruins, where he actually scored twice, but since then, nothing but assists, and some bad mistakes--the latest one being the delay of game he committed in Game Six against the Canadiens.

The whole argument about Marner and Matthews is the same: they are the two highest paid players on the team, and they are making too much money to do too little in the playoffs. 18 playoff games without a goal is unacceptable. Marner is the hockey equivalent of what Alex Rodriguez was before 2009.

Goaltending was a shaky subject during the Leafs' recent playoff woes. Their last starting goaltender was Frederik Andersen, and he received a lot of blame for the losses to Boston in 2018 and 2019. The team traded for Jack Campbell late in the 2019-20 season, and his stellar play during the shortened 2020-21 season led to the Leafs allowing Andersen to become a free agent (where he was picked up by the Hurricanes) and promoting Campbell to the #1 position in net. This season, Campbell is 23-8-4 with a 2.55 GAA, a .917 SV%, and four shutouts. His backup, Petr Mrazek, is 8-4-0 with a 3.07 GAA and a .894 SV%. However, both have been shaky in net in recent games, and the 10-7 game has led to a conclusion that goaltending is a serious problem, with Leafs fans feeling that this current tandem will only result in yet another first round exit.

Once again, I cannot give a definitive answer to the titular question, because it comes with too many caveats. I will say this: the Leafs are proving all of the Canadian Division haters from last season wrong. All I heard last year was that the only reason why the Leafs finished first in the North Division was because there were no good teams in it--yet a Canadian team fell three wins short of the Stanley Cup. Those same haters said that the Leafs would get demolished this season with the divisions back to normal, yet they stand right behind the Panthers and Lightning, and have a good chance to pass both of them. While it doesn't appear safe to say that all is well for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it is safe to say that respect should be given to the Leafs this season. They deserve that much, at least.

If you like this story, click the heart; click the subscribe button for more of my stories! Tips and pledges would be greatly appreciated, but only if you want to do so!