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.

Leafs Notebook – Opening Day Edition – October 4

As the Toronto Maple Leafs get set to kick-off the 2017-2018 season in Winnipeg, the team and its fan base are full of hope. They...

Leafs Notebook – Roster battles and the Zach Hyman/Auston Matthews debate – September 25

When Patrick Marleau signed a three-year, $18.75 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs this past summer, many thought it would come with an...

Leafs Offseason Notebook: JVR Watch, Sophomore Slumps, Defence Planning

As summer enters the dog days and the Toronto Maple Leafs' offseason looks more or less complete, I can’t help but think of a...

2017 Draft Notebook: Trends, analysis and thoughts on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ strategy

When Brendan Shanahan cleaned house and began building his management team in 2015, there was a clear connection to the OHL. Kyle Dubas was the...

Playoff Notebook – Pushed to the Brink – April 22

One big reason the Leafs were successful in making the playoffs this season was their special teams. It went under the radar, but they...

Playoff Notebook – Best of Three – April 20

Frederik Andersen summed up Game 4 best: "We didn't play anywhere close to what we're capable of... We beat ourselves." And yet the Washington Capitals...

Playoff Notebook – Leafs take the series lead – April 18

The Toronto Maple Leafs are leading a playoff series for the first time since beating the Ottawa Senators in game 7 on April 20th,...

Playoff Notebook – Reason to Believe – April 16

Before this series started, if I told you that each of the first two games in Washington would go to overtime and Toronto would return...

Playoff Notebook – Capitals take Game 1 – April 14

You never know what you are going to get in the first period of a new playoff series. Both teams had three full days to...

Leafs Notebook – Getting Ready for Washington – April 10

The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially qualified for the playoffs after a full 82-game season for the first time since 2003-04. That sounds great. They will...

Leafs Notebook – April 3

There is a lot to get into before the final week of the season begins. It's been a crazy, fun and surprising season, and it...

Leafs Notebook – The Final Two Weeks – March 27

Near the end of the 2013-14 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs looked to be cruising to a playoff spot playing a shotgun style of...

Leafs Notebook – Expansion Draft Update – March 6

Back in December, we took an early look at who the Maple Leafs might expose in the June expansion draft. Now that the trade deadline...

Leafs Notebook – Trade Deadline Preview – February 27

Last night, a trade broke that should make Leafs fans pause for a second. Martin Hanzal and Ryan White netted Arizona a first round pick,...

Leafs Notebook – What can we glean from Lou Lamoriello’s trade history? – February...

Mike Babcock made headlines this week for telling the media not to hold their breath on a big deadline deal this season, but that...

Leafs Notebook – Where does Tyler Bozak stack up among NHL 3Cs? – February...

Last week I was asked a question that proved harder to answer on the spot than I thought: Name a third-line center better than...

Leafs Notebook – A little adversity for Andersen – February 6

Heading into the All-Star break, all was well with Frederik Andersen. He was on a two-game shutout streak, hadn’t really struggled at any point...

Leafs Notebook – Addressing the blue line – January 23

There have been many positives this seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs, from the emergence of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to Frederik Andersen playing...

Leafs Notebook – January 13

For part one of this week's Leafs Notebook, check out yesterday's video analysis of the Leafs' dump outs. Notes - It isn’t getting much attention, but...

Video Analysis: The Toronto Maple Leafs dump the puck out a lot

About a month ago, analytics tracking company SportsLogIQ tweeted out some compelling information on the Toronto Maple Leafs' ability to break out of their...

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