The Toronto Maple Leafs took on a new look in the front office heading into the 2014-15 season. The club welcomed Brendan Shanahan as president last April, and added wunderkind Kyle Dubas as an assistant general manager.
Dave Nonis remained as GM and Randy Carlyle was extended as the Leafs’ head coach. The Shanahan regime ushered in some flavour of its own, though, putting together an analytics team to help with hockey operations.
If there was any doubt about the influence of modern analytics on the club, the firing of Carlyle while the Leafs held a 21-16-3 record and the second Eastern Conference wild card spot signaled that the underlying numbers were not being ignored. The Leafs followed up a run of 10-1-1 beginning in late November with a 2-7 skid that saw them badly outshot and outscored to the tune of 35-21.
It’s time to hand out some first half grades for the 2014-15 Maple Leafs.
Team record: 21-17-3 (9th in Eastern Conference)
Goals for: 132 (2nd in NHL)
Goals against: 128 (27th in NHL)
Power play: 19.9% (13th in NHL)
Penalty kill: 82.5% (11th in NHL)
Pre-season Cup odds: 55/1
Current Cup odds: 30/1
Best surprise: Mike Santorelli. Santorelli scored 20 goals in relative obscurity with the Florida Panthers in 2010-11, and he was productive with the Vancouver Canucks last season. His 25 points in 41 games this season see him tied for fourth in scoring on the Leafs. Along with Leo Komarov and Daniel Winnik, Santorelli is a big component of the improvements the club has made up front this season.
Grade: B
Biggest disappointment: The play of Stephane Robidas. The trouble with signing a 37-year-old Robidas, who broke his right leg twice last season, to a three-year deal is that on many nights he looks like a 37-year-old who broke his leg twice last season. Robidas is not what he used to be.
Grade: D
Forwards: The Leafs forwards are an improved lot compared to the 2013-14 group, thanks in large part to the infusion of some players in the bottom six who can do more than slam fists into faces. Nazem Kadri looks like a great player, and we could see him take a big step offensively depending on how he’s deployed by the new coaching staff. Unfortunately, the club has burned much of Phil Kessel’s scoring prime while masquerading Tyler Bozak as a first-line centre.
Komarov, Winnik, Santorelli, and Peter Holland have been effective as complimentary players. It’s on management to fill in the gaps, and there is a particularly large one down the middle.
Grade: B
Defence: Even during the stretch that saw the Leafs go 10-1-1, the Leafs’ shot differential told a more truthful story. This team’s defence is not where it needs to be to compete for a playoff spot. Dion Phaneuf is still being relied upon for far too much and Jake Gardiner, despite a vote of confidence in the form of four-year, $16.2 million contract extension, still hasn’t found his place on the Leafs’ blue line.
Cody Franson has been one of the club’s bright spots this season and he’s due for a new contract. With so much salary already committed for next season, not to mention new deals looming for Jonathan Bernier and Nazem Kadri, signing Franson could prove challenging.
Franson and the continued development of 20-year-old Morgan Rielly help keep this D-corps from receiving a ‘D’.
Grade: C-
Goaltending: The only teams to see more shots against than the Maple Leafs are the Buffalo Sabres and the Burmese soldiers in “Rambo.” Despite playing behind one of the league’s more porous defences, the tandem of Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer have managed to keep the Leafs in some games they had no business being in.
Reimer has struggled at times, though. His .902 save percentage and 3.50 goals-against average are far below his career averages. Furthermore, his .905 even-strength save percentage is well off his .923 mark in 2013-14. Bernier, for his part, has been solid through the first half. His .926 even-strength save percentage is down slightly from his very impressive .933 number from last season.
Grade: B-
Coaching: This is Peter Horachek’s team now, at least until the end of the season. Carlyle appeared to adapt at times early on in the season, but his Leafs soon reverted to their old ways that saw them outshot by a wide margin on a nightly basis under the former head coach’s tenure. The Leafs have some top-end talent, just not enough of it. We all have to work with what we’re given, though.
Grade: D
Overall: Your first half 2014-15 Toronto Maple Leafs were not good enough to truly compete and not bad enough to be blown up.
Grade: C-
