Toronto Maple Leafs Emerge as Serious Playoff Contender
By Santagata JJ
It was supposed to be a year of growth and development for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Instead, they find themselves immersed in a tight playoff race and emerged as serious contenders to be playing in mid-April and beyond.
At 25-17-10 (60 points), the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently third in the Atlantic division, sitting squarely in a playoff spot.
Toronto in the playoffs, is that correct? This was supposed to be a year Toronto did better in the standings but not this well, and certainly not as a serious playoff contender. Are the Maple Leafs playoff hopes for real? Yes they’re a legitimate playoff team.
Rookie Production
I sometimes feel like a broken record player, but it is so hard not to recognize these rookies for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Among the top five rookies for points this year, Toronto has three of those five players. Mitch Marner (46 points), Auston Matthews (44 points) and William Nylander (35 points). Among Toronto’s top point producers overall, Marner, Matthews and Nylander are in the top five.
It doesn’t matter the night, either one of these rookies are tallying a point. Nylander’s recent hat trick to lift Toronto over Atlantic division rivals Boston. Marner’s five game point streak, Matthews game winning goal against Dallas Tuesday night. These rookies have stepped up tremendously for Mike Babcock and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Which quite frankly is a driving factor as to why Toronto is well above .500 this season, sitting in a playoff spot 52 games into the year.
Impact of Frederik Andersen
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Establishing a true starter between the pipes was a major concern for Toronto coming into this season. Andersen struggled the first five games of the year but since then, he has solidified himself as a legitimate no.1 among the league.
Accompanied by a young defense, Andersen has held strong for Toronto this season. Andersen has 43 games played out of 52. 22 wins, 2.81 goals against average, .914 save percentage and 3 shutouts. Anderson has proved his capability to perform as a no.1 goalie this season and at age 27 years old, the future is bright for Andersen and the Leafs.
Reemergence of Veterans
This in a way takes me back to point one, let me explain. With the addition of these rookies and their surging plays as of late, the veterans, such as James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak have also seen their numbers climb this year. Every single one of these players are surpassing their numbers from last year by a landslide.
Now yes, these rookies have helped tremendously, but with Toronto winning more games, it is allowing these veterans like Kadri, JVR and Bozak to gain a sense of confidence back to their game. Which is being noticed not just by the fans but it’s also showing on Toronto’s record this year. Kadri (39 points), JVR (43 points), Bozak (35 points) these three have been with Toronto through the tough times over the last few seasons, fans and players around the league are finally starting to respect them and realize their capability when they’re paired with players of the same skill.
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Toronto is a serious playoff contender right now. With the production of these rookies, Frederik Andersen’s play thus far and JVR, Kadri and Bozak’s confidence coming back has propelled this team into a legitimate threat come playoff time.
This team will make the playoffs, mark my words (actually I predicted this 2 months ago, go take a look at my article if you don’t believe me). And don’t be surprised if they upset some teams too and make it into the second round of the playoffs. The future is above and beyond bright for this Toronto organization, without a doubt this club will be a recognized team for years to come.