The Leafs have been consistently burned by a lack of penalties drawn over the last 5 seasons
Two blatant missed calls cost the Leafs a valuable point against the Coyotes last night. The first being on Tavares earlier in the game when he was hauled down after stickhandling through two Arizona defenders and the second being the oh so obvious, right in front of the official, hold and stick grab from Chychrun on Matthews in overtime that eventually led to him scoring the OT winner.
The Leafs did not have a single powerplay last night, and clearly should have. The fact that there was no call on Chychrun in overtime on Matthews is no surprise though, as Matthews has drawn only 6 penalties all season. That ranks him 352 in the league! Only 34 drawn penalties behind McDavid.
This is nothing new for the Leafs, though, as they have ranked in the bottom third of the league for the past 5 consecutive seasons in terms of penalties drawn per 60. They have ranked 29th, 31st, 25th, 23rd, and 25th. You would think a team in the top 5 in the league would have more favourable numbers in the penalties drawn category, but it goes to show how well the Leafs actually play 5-on-5 and shorthanded. Just take a look at where other top teams like Colorado, Tampa and Florida have ranked over the past 5 years and you'll notice quite a difference.
Tampa: 3rd, 3rd, 7th, 5th, 3rd
Florida: 9th, 6th, 12th, 2nd, 2nd
Carolina: 25th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 19th
Colorado: 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st
The idea that the officials give the Leafs preferential treatment could not be further from the truth. These numbers put that theory to bed. If the NHL wants to have any hope of being a top league in the pro sport ranks, they simply must address the quality and consistency (or a lack thereof) in their officiating.
| POLL | ||
MARS 11 | 275 ANSWERS The Leafs have been consistently burned by a lack of penalties drawn over the last 5 seasons Does the NHL need to do a better job of holding its officials accountable? | ||
| Players can be fined, officials should too | 186 | 67.6 % |
| The refs are fine | 14 | 5.1 % |
| Either call the rulebook or throw it out | 75 | 27.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
