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Leafs Notebook

Since 2011, Anthony Petrielli has been providing his weekly long-form breakdown of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ games and the big storylines surrounding the team.

Auston Matthews vs. Aleksander Barkov

Series Breakdown: The key five-on-five battles to watch in the Leafs vs. Panthers matchup

While it’s easy to get caught up in all the shenanigans Florida will bring to a series, it’s important to note the tangible reasons...
Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs vs. Senators

How the Maple Leafs took care of business against the Senators – Leafs Notebook

Rest assured, we will soon tee up the Maple Leafs-Panthers rematch, but I wanted to first jot down a few thoughts about the Leafs’...
Matthew Kines, Mitch Marner, Maple Leafs

Series Breakdown: The keys to special teams success for the Maple Leafs vs. the...

We are breaking down the series in segments as we prepare for the upcoming Battle of Ontario playoff matchup.  We started with the matchups at...
Auston Matthews, Senators vs. Maple Leafs

Series Breakdown: The key five-on-five matchups to watch in the Leafs vs. Senators matchup

The Battle of Ontario is finally back.  Many fans are nostalgic about this matchup; it resurfaces great memories if you’re a Leafs supporter – myself...
Matthew Knies, Mitch Marner & Auston Matthews celebrate Leafs goal

How the Maple Leafs set themselves up for the division title, and the question...

With two games remaining, the Maple Leafs are one point away from clinching first place in the Atlantic Division. The regular-season division title is a...
Brandon Carlo, Maple Leafs

The Rielly-Carlo pairing rounding into form, Matthew Knies elevating, and bottom-six tinkering — Leafs...

Another week of piling up wins has the Maple Leafs comfortably in the driver’s seat at the top of the Atlantic Division. However, this is...
Brandon Carlo, Maple Leafs vs. Kings

What the Maple Leafs’ impressive win over LA tells us about the potential playoff...

During a week when the Maple Leafs took seven of eight points and reasserted themselves at the top of the Atlantic Division, one of...
Scott Laughton, Maple Leafs vs. Utah

Scott Laughton’s slow adjustment, the special teams, the third line, and the Atlantic Division...

With 12 games to go, you can’t ask for much more than the situation in front of the Maple Leafs.  There was a lot of...
Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs vs. Devils

A takeaway from Auston Matthews’ shot location data, Brandon Carlo & Scott Laughton’s adjustments,...

Earlier today, we examined the Maple Leafs' disappointing 2-4-1 March stretch and the adjustments needed ahead of the playoffs. Now, let's explore more specific points...
Craig Berube, William Nylander, Maple Leafs bench

The reasons behind the Maple Leafs’ March struggles, and the adjustments needed ahead of...

Well, the Maple Leafs' annual March dip has officially arrived. The team trudging through a stretch of mediocre hockey each March has become an annual...
Craig Berube, Maple Leafs bench

With more options at his disposal, it’s now on Craig Berube to get creative...

In the lead-up to the trade deadline, the common sentiment around the Maple Leafs was that their top priority was acquiring a 3C to...
Brandon Carlo, Maple Leafs vs. Avalanche

Evaluating the Maple Leafs’ trade deadline performance and best lineup fits for Laughton &...

Well, that trade deadline escalated quickly. Only a few weeks ago, we discussed how wide open the East felt, a take that aged like milk....
Brad Treliving, Craig Berube, Maple Leafs

With all eyes on Brad Treliving less than 24 hours from the trade deadline,...

A little over a week before the trade deadline, Brad Treliving's answers in his media availability fell somewhere between managing expectations and under-promising/over-delivering. Here was...
Nick Robertson, Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs’ uptick in depth scoring and offense from the defense, and is...

Happy NHL trade deadline week!  At this point, it’s a matter of when and who -- rather than if -- the Atlantic-leading Leafs add to...
Joseph Woll, Maple Leafs vs. Lightning

The Atlantic Division title is there for the taking for the Maple Leafs —...

The only piece of "hardware" this Maple Leafs core can claim through eight seasons is a shortened-season Canadian division title.  While the team has been...
Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Maple Leafs

Lessons from the 4 Nations tournament for the Maple Leafs, and examining the depth...

Wow, what a 4 Nations tournament so far.  I thought it would be fun, but I didn’t expect this. The teams are playing for keeps...
Chris Tanev, Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: Sorting through the Maple Leafs’ positives and negatives at the 4 Nations...

The 4 Nations break is officially here, giving us the time to dig deeper into specific Leafs-related storylines over the next few weeks. For now,...
Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner

Leafs Notebook: Trade deadline aggressiveness, the implications of the fast-rising salary cap, and Morgan...

We're now into February, and the stretch drive of the regular season is officially underway. It’s shaping up to be one of the tighter finishes...
Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs vs. Devils

Leafs Notebook: Auston Matthews’ crowd noise call-out, the Leafs’ chronic injury issues, Morgan Rielly’s...

As the Maple Leafs geared up to play the Lightning last week, Jon Cooper noted the shift in the Atlantic Division’s competitive landscape.  Cooper: “There...
Yanni Gourde, Kraken

Is the Maple Leafs’ biggest trade deadline need at center or defense? An early...

With the Four Nations tournament under three weeks away, trade talks are starting to pick up around the NHL. Seven trades were completed in December...

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