The top-5 most unexpected things about the Leafs this season
The Leafs have played 42 games so far this season and now have some time off as the NHL heads into the All-Star break. Auston Matthews and Jack Campbell's stellar seasons have resulted in the two flying off to Las Vegas for the weekend while the rest of the team gets some much needed time off before a busy February. At the half way point of the season, the Leafs have a 29-10-3 record and sit 3rd in the Atlantic but they have multiple games in hand on both of the Panthers and Lightning. Many things that have occurred this season were somewhat expected, such as Auston Matthews being in the Rocket race once again, but these 5 things have been a little more unexpected.
5 - JOHN TAVARES IS STILL ELITE
The way some fans and media were talking about John Tavares at the start of these season, you'd think he was a 4th line caliber player making 11 million dollars. Tavares had a slow start to the season, as did many of the guys. When the Leafs' fortunes turned around, so did their captain's. Tavares has 17 goals and 23 assists this season and is scoring right around a point per game. He is still one of the best net front presences in hockey and has been playing some of his best hockey this season. He's proven many of his doubters wrong in the first half of the season, much to the delight of Leafs Nation.
4 - THE GOALTENDING SITUATION
Jack Campbell was heading into his first season as a full time starter after winning the job from Frederik Andersen in 2021. Campbell had an amazing season in 2021 with a 17-3-2 record and a .921 save percentage, breaking the league record for consecutive wins to start a season in the progress. We all knew Campbell was a really good goalie but the majority of fans didn't think he was as good as he's shown that he can be this season. Despite some recent struggles, Campbell has a 21-6-3 record with a .925 save percentage and is one of the two Leafs representatives at the 2022 All-Star Game. He was also in the early running for the Vezina Trophy and stands a great chance of re-entering that conversation with a strong second half.
Meanwhile, Petr Mrazek was a career tandem goalie and was brought in to form a strong tandem with Campbell. Mrazek 's inability to stay healthy has been an issue during his career, but the time that he has missed over the course of the first half was something that I don't think anyone saw coming. Mrazek has a 5-2 record this season and a .902 save percentage. This is despite a brutal start to the season where his save percentage hovered around a .880 and, for a time, he became a non-option in net for the Leafs. The play of Campbell and Mrazek have been quite opposite and as a result the tandem was broken up for a traditional starter/backup situation. Luckily for the Leafs, Mrazek has begun to turn his season around and we will likely see a lot more of him in February, as Sheldon Keefe works towards getting Campbell some more rest.
Joseph Woll's emergence as a viable 3rd goalie option was unexpected as well. Woll had two below average seasons in the AHL prior to this year. Despite that, in 4 games this season he has a 3-1 record with a .911 save percentage. He appears to be someone that the Leafs would feel comfortable with if one of Campbell or Mrazek got injured.
3 THE DEFENSE NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
The Leafs' defense was the best it had ever been in the Matthews era last season. Unfortunately, this was one of the successes that seems to have been a result of playing in the North Division last season. The defense corps hasn't changed much from last season, aside from Zach Bogosian returning to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Rasmus Sandin jumping into a full time role. Other than that, there have been no major changes and the top-4 is still intact. The Rielly-Brodie pairing has been fantastic and even better than last season. T.J. Brodie is the defenseman this team lacked for years and, in my opinion, Morgan Rielly is playing his best hockey as a Leaf..
The Muzzin-Holl pairing is another story. What was a borderline great shutdown pair last season has been an issue for the Leafs this year. The pair has been on for many goals against and they don't have the same magic that they did last season. That pairing's play last season is what allowed for the Leafs to make upgrades to their forward core rather than on the back end. This season, upgrading on the blueline should be the Leafs' top priority - especially since they may match up against the Panthers, Lightning, or Bruins in round 1. Luckily, the trade deadline is coming up, so the Leafs have a month and a half to upgrade their defense before the playoffs.
2 NICK RITCHIE IS OUT OF THE LINEUP
Nick Ritchie signed a two-year deal that pays him $2.5 million per season this past summer. Many fans were excited about Ritchie, a 6'3, big-bodied, physical left winger. He was coming off of a 15-goal season in 2021, which would equate to around 25 goals over an 82-game season. Unfortunately, he did not fit in with the Leafs' offense at all. He had the opportunity to play in the top-6 but he could not take advantage. He scored just two goals in 33 games this year and he has often looked out of place. Even when he was playing in the bottom-6, a role he's much better suited for - other depth options were both cheaper and more productive. Ritchie was placed on waivers in January and went unclaimed. Now he's on the outside looking in for the Leafs and it's been nearly a month since he last played.
1 MICHAEL BUNTING'S SUCCESS ON THE TOP LINE
Michael Bunting has been the brightest bright spot in the first half of the 2021-22 season for the Leafs. In 42 games, he has 13 goals and 16 assists and he leads the league in penalties drawn. Many fans thought that the Leafs would miss Zach Hyman and as much as we do, Bunting has brought the grit, hard work and scoring touch that Hyman did. Bunting's $950K cap hit looked like a bargain when he signed it, but it looks even better now - especially since he still has one season remaining at under $1M. Bunting scored at 39-goal pace in 2020-21 with the Arizona Coyotes. He shot 26 percent however, and many predicted that that would fall in Toronto.
He's not scoring at the 39-goal pace that he did in 21 games last year, but he's been fantastic for the Leafs. He is a staple on the left-wing with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner and plays a similar style of hockey to Brad Marchand, someone who Bunting has said that he models his game after. The Scarborough native has one of the best-value contracts in the NHL. Some fans and pundits thought he'd be a welcome addition to the Leafs, but very few thought he was be the player that he's been in the first half of the season.
