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.

William Nylander, Auston Matthews, Jake Gardiner and Patrick Marleau of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: On William Nylander’s new contract and the full Leafs lineup

It is finally over. William Nylander's new deal is six years long and totals $41.77 million. Because it was signed in the middle of the...
Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: Leafs excelling with the long change, Auston Matthews’ return, Josh Leivo, Andreas...

Sorry to disappoint, but this isn’t your regularly scheduled William Nylander content. We’re going to move on right to some actual hockey discussion. One Mike...
Toronto Maple Leafs' Kasperi Kapanen

Leafs Notebook: Taking stock at the quarter mark, anticipating Auston Matthews’ return & more

With roughly a quarter of the season now complete and American Thanksgiving upon us (Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers, by the way!), now...
Kasperi Kapanen of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: Kasperi Kapanen’s next contract, Power Play Adjustments, Willy Watch

As the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander continue their stalemate and new contracts for Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews loom (and potentially Jake...
Toronto Maple Leafs' John Tavares

Leafs Notebook: What’s behind Toronto’s home vs. road record?

The contrast in the Toronto Maple Leafs record at home versus away is well known – they are 3-5-0 in Toronto and 6-0-0 everywhere...
Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate

Leafs Notebook: Options with Auston Matthews out, Power play Adjustments, Kasperi Kapanen’s hot start

With only two games for the Toronto Maple Leafs this past week, I thought we would get right into the notes this week. I’d also recommend giving...
toronto maple leafs pittsburgh penguins nikita zaitsev

Leafs Notebook: On 5v5 play, secondary scoring & special teams after nine games

For the second straight season, the Toronto Maple Leafs got off to a 6–1–0 start, setting the league on fire by overpowering the opposition...
Toronto Maple Leafs' John Tavares

Leafs Notebook: Leafs outscoring a high-scoring league, thoughts on defensive pairings, Nazem Kadri’s usage

Last season, the NHL averaged 5.86 goals per game, the highest number since 2008 (5.7). I thought that made the timing of the John Tavares...

Leafs Notebook: Crunch time for the William Nylander contract, Preseason Observations & Predictions for...

It’s good to be back. Welcome to the 2018-19 NHL season. I think it might be a good one. Before we get to the notes...

Leafs Notebook, John Tavares Edition: Matchup Implications, 11/7, Cap Crunching, Can More Offense Help...

For a team coming off of a 105-point season in which their best player missed 20 games, the Toronto Maple Leafs have undergone quite...
kyle dubas 2018 nhl draft

2018 Toronto Maple Leafs Draft Notebook: Analyzing the Trends & Themes with the nine...

It was a relatively quiet weekend around the league, and the Toronto Maple Leafs were no exception. After a trade down that many expected to...
Kyle Dubas, Toronto Maple Leafs GM

Leafs Notebook: Kyle Dubas era begins with big questions looming in 2018 offseason

After a flurry of departures, promotions and one hiring (so far), the dust is starting to clear in the Toronto Maple Leafs front office....

Toronto Maple Leafs 2017-18 Post Mortem: Reflecting on Lou Lamoriello’s tenure, Playoff Takeaways &...

When Lou Lamoriello was hired as General Manager in July 2015, it came out of nowhere. While his exit a little under three years later...
toronto maple leafs win game 6

Leafs Playoff Notebook: Seven

It always felt like it was going to come down to this – Leafs versus Bruins in a Game 7 winner-takes-all. And yet it...
toronto maple leafs boston bruins fiesty

Leafs Playoff Notebook: Kadri returns, Andersen steps up, Johnsson earning trust, Hyman providing spark...

The bottom line when it came to Game 5 was this: The Maple Leafs needed to win, and it didn’t matter how. This was a...

Leafs Playoff Notebook: Pushed to the Brink

We almost exclusively focus on the Toronto Maple Leafs and their perspective of things in this space, but let’s take a few minutes here...
auston matthews toronto maple leafs boston bruins

Leafs Playoff Notebook: Home Cooking

Well, we now have a series. That was closer to the Toronto Maple Leafs team fans were expecting when the series got underway. And what...
leafs bruins game 2

Leafs Playoff Notebook: Mike Babcock under the microscope after Game 2 adjustments

After Game 1, we touched on the Leafs’ poor bench management after the team missed challenging a goal that was offside, put their fourth...
toronto maple leafs lose game 1 to boston

Leafs Playoff Notebook: Special Teams Swing Game 1

Game 1 will be remembered for the Nazem Kadri hit, and the score will show that it was a blowout, but the real story...
mike babcock toronto maple leafs

Leafs Notebook – Playoff Preparation, Fourth Line Decisions, D-Zone Draw Set Plays – April...

It’s an extended notes edition of the Leafs Notebook this week. Let’s get right to it! Notes -  I was playing with some leading/trailing stats looking...

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