Rough October schedule could set the Leafs up for a slow start
The Leafs will start the 2022-23 season under even more scrutiny than usual. The team managed to break a franchise record with 115 points despite their goaltending ranking 27th in the NHL. Things didn't improve in the playoffs. In terms of raw save percentage, Jack Campbell may have outdone Andrei Vasilevskiy. However, every metric that takes shot quality into account had Campbell well behind the former Conn Smythe winner.
In response, Kyle Dubas let Campbell walk in free agency and traded Petr Mrazek to Chicago. He replaced them with Matt Murray, who after winning 2 Stanley Cups as a rookie, has had a few rough seasons and Ilya Samsonov, who failed to live up to his status as a stud goaltender after the Caps used a first round draft pick on him in Washington. It's worth noting that Dubas fired long time Leafs goaltending coach Steve Briere and hired Curtis Sanford as his replacement. In short, all eyes will be on the Leafs and their goaltenders right off the bat this season. Unfortunately for the Leafs, their October schedule is absolutely brutal.
The Leafs will start the season playing 3 games in 4 nights, with travel, starting against the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal, then heading back to Toronto to play the Capitals the next night. They'll have a day's rest before hosting a vastly improved Senators team. I would assume Murray will start against Montreal, allowing Samsonov a chance to play against his former team the next night and giving Murray some rest before starting against his former team.
After that, the Leafs play 2 more games at home against the Stars and Coyotes before starting a brutal Western road trip that takes them to Winnipeg, Vegas, San Jose and finishes off with back to back road games against Los Angeles and Anaheim.
My takeaway from this is not to freak out if the Leafs and their new goaltenders start the season off a little slower than expected. If they still haven't found their footing by the end of November, it may be time to worry. While I think Dubas was right to shake up the goaltending, he may very well be betting his job on this. With the schedule the Leafs have been saddled with to start the season, it may be smart to postpone judgement until they get a little deeper into the season.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 2 | 740 ANSWERS Rough October schedule could set the Leafs up for a slow start How many points will William Nylander finish with this season? | ||
| 60 or less | 149 | 20.1 % |
| 61-70 | 205 | 27.7 % |
| 71-80 | 224 | 30.3 % |
| More than 80 | 162 | 21.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
