The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a busy December, playing 15 games in 31 days after a quiet November. They also have a back-to-back for four weeks in a row with travel.
The month has been super up and down. Despite a series of games with questionable play, and the busy December schedule, the Maple Leafs still sit two points back in the Atlantic Division with 46, a testament to how well the Maple Leafs have played this year.
Let’s take a look at how the Maple Leafs’ season has been so far.
Riddled with injuries, but still winning games
It’s normal to experience a few injuries throughout the year, or have players take maintenance days. After all, 82 games is a long season. However, the Maple Leafs have faced significant injuries throughout the season. This has led to chaotic line combinations with players playing higher in the lineup than they probably should have or young rookies acting as stopgaps.
With all the injuries, the Maple Leafs got to see Nikita Grebenkin and Fraser Minten with the big club for an extended period. Grebenkin played seven games and did not register a point, but his tenacity and power-forward-like qualities left fans wanting to see him in more games.
Fraser Minten on the other hand played 11 games, scoring two goals with two assists for four points. This is exactly the kind of production you want to see from your future third-line center. Minten also showed good defensive instincts and habits, and did not look out of place despite being 20 years old.
As we noted in our breakdown of every injury this season, many of the forwards have been riddled with injuries, notably almost a month without captain Auston Matthews. Despite being without their captain (and other notable injuries), the team showed commitment to head coach Craig Berube’s tight forechecking and north-south style of play. Mitch Marner, Matthew Knies (before being injured), William Nylander, and John Tavares carried the offence and helped the Maple Leafs to a 7–2 record in Matthews’ absence.
With two more recent injuries, one to Anthony Stolarz, who is supposed to be out four to six weeks, and the other to Auston Matthews, whose timeline to return is unclear, the Maple Leafs aim to end their busy December on a high note.
The goalie gambit
During the offseason, GM Brad Treliving extended Joseph Woll to a three-year, $3.67M AAV deal that kicks in the 2026–27 season, clearly the goaltender of the future. The Maple Leafs also signed free agent and former Stanley Cup champion Anthony Stolarz to a two-year, $2.5M AAV contract.
Joseph Woll already has an injury history in his 52 NHL game career, and in fact, was injured to start this season. To make Maple Leafs fans more nervous, Woll only started a career-high 25 games in a single season before signing his extension. Stolarz has only started a career-high of 28 games in a single season, but did play 27 games last year with the Florida Panthers. Clearly, the Maple Leafs were betting on Woll’s youth and Stolarz’s experience.
While it might be too early to say this is a slam dunk, the tandem has worked out probably better than the Maple Leafs could have hoped for. For a large part of the season, Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz were both in the top five for save percentage and goals against average. With the recent high-scoring losses, Woll is no longer in the top five for either, but Stolarz is still second in save percentage and third in the league for goals against average.
Suffice it to say that the Maple Leafs’ goaltending has been very solid this year, perhaps the best in recent memory, and has bailed out this injury-riddled Maple Leafs team on numerous occasions. However, the success so far cannot solely lie on the goaltending.
A new hope: Berube’s system
At the end of another disappointing first-round playoff exit, the Maple Leafs had an identity problem: high scoring regular season, high goals against, and a playstyle that would not translate to the playoffs.
This is what Craig Berube was hired to fix. The Maple Leafs play a more heavy, tight forechecking game, and notably more dump and chase hockey. And it already shows in the numbers.
Last year, the Maple Leafs were second in the league in goals for with 298 (3.63 goals/game) and were 12th in goals against with 261 (3.18 goals/game). Currently, the Maple Leafs are 12th with 3.11 goals a game, and 21st in goals against per game at 2.84 with just over 40% of the season completed.
While the Maple Leafs are scoring fewer goals this season, this is to be expected with a less puck-possession-focused system, and more of an emphasis on team defence and tight forechecking, a system that Berube is trying to instill. This brand of hockey is what we see teams do to the Maple Leafs in the playoffs to stymie their potent offensive year after year.
Other areas of notable improvement are the penalty kill and shot-blocking. Last year, the Maple Leafs finished 23rd on the penalty kill with 76.9%, whereas this year they are currently 11th with 81.4%. For shot blocking, last year the Maple Leafs ranked 10th with 1,352, whereas they currently sit 7th with 602.
—
Whether the Maple Leafs will make a deep playoff run this year or not remains to be determined. What is clear is that what the Maple Leafs have been doing for the last eight years has not worked. So far this year with revamped goaltending, a new coach, and a new system, results seem encouraging that come playoffs, the Maple Leafs will be ready.
