William Nylander : A Redemption Story

If one thing has been proven in the past, it's getting off on the right start. Teams like Edmonton and Carolina have caught fire right out of the gate and show no signs of slowing down. Banking these points for later in the year when possible injuries or losing streaks may occur can be very critical for your team making the playoffs in April. This same logic can be applied to players too, and nobody knows that better than William Nylander.

Leaf's fans and even general hockey fans know the struggle Nylander had fitting in with his teammates after missing training camp and the first half of the regular season. In what ended up being a long drawn out power play, Nylander decided to sit out in lough of contract negotiations. What was implied as being a relatively easy signing turned into a dramatic, old fashioned standoff between Kyle Dubas and Nylander. However on December 1st, 2018, William Nylander signed a lengthy contract of 6 years for what now seems like a bargain price of 41.77 million. The drama did not end there though, Nylander went on to struggle the rest of the season only accumulating 7 goals and 27 points in 54 games, often being criticized by the media (rightfully so) and with Leaf Nation relentlessly calling for his departure.

When you make the amount of money Nylander is making, expectations start to arise. I think most of Leafs Nation would agree that they were expecting another big year out of Nylander, especially when he was playing with a top 5 Center like Auston Matthews, but he just never seemed to be able to get it going and quite frankly he looked uninterested in what was happening. Fast forward to this year, with all the other big contracts taking the limelight and a full training camp under his belt, Nylander looks revitalized. If you're a points guy like me then you would be very impressed with his 5 points in 8 games, which would be a 51 point pace, crushing last year's stats. That being said, Nylander has the ability to get hot and have a few streaks where he goes off. He's also hit 61 points in his other 2 full seasons, so really there is no reason to believe he cannot surpass those numbers and make his case for a top 50 player in the league.

(Hockey-refrence.com)

Although it's a small sample size of 8 games (not including the last game against Boston) Nylander has a 65.4% Corsi for; miles ahead of his personal best of 56.8 %. This means that when Nylander is on the ice he's creating more chances then are being taken on him. Nylander was someone who gave Babcock a bad taste in his mouth all season long in ‪2018-19‬, and even he gave Nylander praise, following a game against former Stanley Cup champions the St. Louis Blues. Even from an "eye test" point of view, it's clear as day that he looks a lot more comfortable in his skates. There have been times he's looked like the best player on the Maple Leafs and now with the massive Marner contract, the media seems to have shifted from Nylander, giving him even more confidence.

As I said, 8 games are small sample size for the season, but if Nylander continues to keep grinding away, the points will follow. I hope he has a 70 point season and can shove it everyone's face that he was worth the contract he got. With 74 games left, it will be at the very least entertaining to see whether or not Nylander can live up to the Toronto expectations.

Babcock’s time may be running out.

May 20th, 2015: a day that resonates with Leaf Nation. Mike Babcock became the highest paid coach in NHL history after signing a 8 year 50 million dollar deal (6.25mil annually).

Since Babcock joined in 2015/16 we have seen major strides in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. They started out as the last place team and then turned into a top 5 contender in the entire league. The Leafs (who had only been in the playoffs once since 2004) has now been to the playoffs three straight years—only to be knocked out of the first round 3 times straight.

I gotta be honest, it seems that ever since Dubas took over as GM, Babcock and Dubas have had a power struggle. Babcock seems to have an idea of what he thinks the team should look like, and of course, Dubas has his own ideas. In addition, I think we can all agree that Babcock is stubborn and not willing to change his ways. His system beliefs tend to rub people the wrong way. Whether it's refusing to give Matthews 20+ minutes in the playoffs, or running four lines in critical moments of games, Babcock does not care! I’m a fan of a Babcock; I feel that he's talented. However, I also feel like he's a coach with an expiration date. Eventually these players will get sick of his old school coaching and stubborn ways.

I think that frustrations are boiling over with Babcock and the fan base which begs the question whether or not Brendan Shannahan will make a move in the off season. Brendan Shannahan has stuck with the "Shanna Plan", and it doesn’t seem likely that he will divert from it now. Although Dubas is the GM, it's become clear that all final decisions run through the Hall of Famer Shannahan. With Babcock failing to get past the first round, it forces Shannahan’s hand (something he hasn't had to face yet).

The Toronto fan base is loyal but is also very vocal. So, when things aren't going well, it's not a place you want to be in and with the recent struggles against Tampa, St. Louis and Montreal, it seems as though they've turned against Babcock. Now, to be fair, this hasn't been a two year process. We’ve been patient and haven't seen any adjustments in the most critical round of the playoffs. So, at what point can we freak out? I think three years is enough time to prove yourself as a contender—also considering the talent acquired in that time.

It seems everyone is doing their job, except for Babcock. He has used fourth liners during important moments, it almost seems like its a way for Babcock to get back at the media. He purposely didn’t start Spezza against his former team, knowing full well how Toronto’s media would react. Like I said before, I do think he's a talented coach, but Babcock has served his purpose. In my opinion, it's time to move on to a player’s coach—someone like Tocchet in Phoenix, or Gallant in Vegas. I'm not sure who is out there right now, but it's time for Shannahan and company to take a hard look at this bench and decide if Babcock’s expiration date has arrived.

Do you think Babcocks time is over in Toronto? And if so, who do you think could be a better fit.

Atlantic Division and Hart Memorial Predictions

    6 days into the season and I can't tell you how fired up I am for another great NHL season! With all the skill on each team in the NHL, it is never easy to predict what could happen for the season, but it makes for some great content and debate. Over the next few entries, I plan on making some predictions for the season; including those who I think will take home the NHL prizes and goodies. So, without further a-due let's get started...

In my opinion, the most competitive division in hockey right now is the Atlantic division. 

My Standings Predictions:

1st - Tampa

2nd - Boston

3rd - Toronto

4th - Florida

5th - Montreal

6th - Buffalo

7th- Detroit

8th - Ottawa

As you can see, it is no surprise that the top 3 teams are  pretty much in the same order as last year. Toronto made some major moves in the off-season adding Tyson Barrie, Jason Spezza and former KHL player Ilya Mikayev. I also have a feeling that Babcock and the Leaf’s training staff are going to rely heavily on their back up (Hutchinson) to have Andersen ready for the playoffs. This is why I don't see them jumping to 1st or 2nd.  Between first and second, I think it's anybody's to grab... With Boston making a final last year and Tampa being embarrassed in the first round of the playoffs, I imagine both teams will try to rest their players when they can which will likely cost them a few points. 

Where things begin to get interesting is 4th through 6th.  Florida, to me, is the most interesting team of the year. They’ve addressed their issues in goaltending when they signed former Vezina winning goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, as well as, Stanley Cup caliber coach, Joe Quenville. They definitely were not a team that had trouble scoring and their defense is league average, look for them to push for a wildcard.

Buffalo is another interesting team. Ever since they got Eichel, it seems as though the league is just waiting for them to break through. And with Dahlin entering his second season, it is possible they could squeak into a wildcard. However, they haven't given me any reason to think they can overcome their regular season issues, so for me they are a miss.

 Montreal Canadiens are looking very solid this year too. They remind me of the Maple Leafs a few years ago; fast, young and talented , looking to find their team identity. Also let's not forget they missed the playoffs by a measly 1 point, with the best goalie in the world in the crease, Don't count them out for making a push for a wildcard spot too! 

The Red Wings are a team that is on the right path but like the Senators I think their goal is to draft and develop, they have continually gotten better since moving on from their long standing players Datsyuk and Zetterberg. I love their young talent like American-born center Dylan Larkin, and how can you not love the recent 4 goal scoring winger Anthony Mantha. All in all Detroit in my opinion is only a few pieces away from being a playoff team again.

Unfortunately, for one team there needs to be a last place finisher, and this year that position belongs to the Ottawa Senators. With a full rebuild in place, the Senators are not looking to make any push for the playoffs, I imagine they will try to get the best value for their vets and continue to draft and develop. If you're an Ottawa Sens fan, it's going to be a tough season...However, the future looks bright with players like Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk and young blue chip prospect Erik Brannstrom. 

Hart trophy nominees: 

Connor McDavid - 124 points (53 goals , 71 assists)

Nathan Mackinnon - 103 points (45 goals ,58 assists)

Aleksander Barkov - 100 points (41 goals, 59 assists)

One of the most coveted awards: The Hart Memorial Trophy; awarded to the most valuable player to their team. This year, I'm predicting that McDavid puts up a monster season, dragging his team to the playoffs, just edging out a lethal Colorado team and their MVP Nathan Mackinnon. Now, Mackinnon had his coming out party 2 years ago and I don't see him slowing down, both figuratively and literally so watch for him to make a very convincing case against his counter part McDavid. 

Connor McDavid chasing down Captain of
Florida Panthers Aleksander Barkov

I'm putting Barkov at #3 for the Hart. Barkov consistently has been the "most underrated player", but that has come and gone. This guy is on everyone's radar now and he is also on a team that could do major damage in the league (barring any major injuries). Barkov put up 96 points last season and has been on an upward trajectory since joining the league. If he can hit 100 points this season, there's no reason to believe he can't take home the shiny trophy in 2020.

Make sure to vote who think will win the Hart memorial this year down below!

Morgan Rielly VS. The People

The Toronto Maple Leafs is a weird market plain and simple. It is a place where we revere our forwards and snub out our defenseman. Great players have come and gone more recently, Jake Gardiner and Dion Phaneuf. Now I won’t sit here and say that Gardiner and Phaneuf were perfect players, but they were definitely not as bad as the fans and media made them out to be. We put those guys on blast to the point where you couldn’t turn your tv on TSN without some type of polarizing story. It seems as though the negative often over shadows the positives of our defense the past few years and I honestly don’t know why, especially when we have a guy like Morgan Rielly on our backend.

Morgan Rielly honestly might be the most underrated defenseman in the league, and that says something considering the market he plays for. Time and time again he is overlooked; he wasn't even in the top 4 in Norris trophy voting last season. In the 2018-19 season Rielly posted all new career highs in goals, assists and points which is leaps and bounds from his previous season of 52 points.

 Offensively we know he can produce so how is he defensively? According to hockey-reference.com he also put up career high in Corsi% posting a 54.8% which was 2.9% better than Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman. Its also pretty clear Mike Babcock has liked what he’s seen considering Rielly’s bump of 256 minutes from 2017-18 to 2018-19, he is being used in more critical situations, he can play anywhere you put him, and he is a vocal leader on and off the ice for the rest of the team ,the case for captaincy was certainly there and I don’t think many people would have been upset if he had won it. With the 2019-20 season finally underway and with the Maple Leafs complete makeover on the backend, could this finally be the season that Morgan breaks through the league and forces people to pay attention? Well he is certainly off to a great start putting up an impressive 4 assists against Ottawa and Columbus, not to mention his 66.1% corsi average. With Tyson Barrie taking a bit more attention from Rielly I could easily see him putting up career numbers and taking home NHL hardware.

Who is Ready To Be The 25th Captain of The Historic Maple Leafs?

I’ll never forget sitting in my living room and watching as Mats Sundin - Captain Of the Toronto Maple Leafs came bombing down the ice, winding up, and ripping the puck top right cheese on Kippersoff to win the game in overtime against the Calgary Flames for his 500th goal. Leafs nation knew they had a captain that was a class act and class talent. But even though we had Mats with maybe one of the best wraparounds in a league we were a franchise that was not headed for success anytime soon. Fast forward through all the pain, heartache and flat-out stupidity (*cough* John Ferguson Jr. *cough*) we finally find ourselves in a position of strength. With the likes of Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Nylander as our new core, we find ourselves without a standout leader. We have something better.. Leafs nation has got a great problem on their hands… its that all their high skilled players could easily make a case for the captaincy.

 When we look at some of the more obvious choices it probably comes down to these three: Tavares, Matthews, and Rielly. According to NHL.com and other major hockey outlets, it seems to be leaning towards Tavares, but is this beat option for the Maple Leafs organization? Well, let's look at some facts. Tavares is a proven leader, he put up his best season with the Maple Leafs and his a homegrown talent. Let's also not forget that he left his former organization to come here and win a cup with young guns acquired through draft. So does he have the requirements to be our captain for the next 6 years? Well, the answer is a little bit more complicated than just a yes or a no because of Matthews. Matthews has been a superstar since he entered the league. Outside of recent trouble, which come on leaf fans, is ridiculous, he’s been squeaky clean. He has shown time and time again that he has a personality, like when he went head to head with Patrick Kane doing outstanding goal celebrations, or when he posed for GQ. As soon as his rookie season was over he was allowed to speak to the media day after day and he handled himself well. Never did he put the franchise at risk (all at the age of 20 minds you). Matthews is, and that is an emphasis on “is” - the face of the franchise. So who really deserves to be captain? That is totally up to Mike Babcock’s style of player. It's going to come down to whether they want someone with a big personality or someone who is essentially a robot to the media. Well, Toronto we all know what happened when the last robot came to Toronto… he won a national championship with the Toronto Raptors. When it comes down to it, I think Tavares will get the captaincy but either way, this team has a rock-solid leadership group and we have a real shot this year, all of leafs nation should be excited about this upcoming season!