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, Maple Leafs vs. Sabres

Leafs Notebook: PK improvement, a special week for William Nylander, Jake McCabe’s transition to...

An exciting week for the Maple Leafs featured two dramatic wins during their stay in Sweden. Only two games in a span of 12 days...
Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: Matthews & Marner’s struggles together start with the forecheck

An offseason of change in Toronto was proceeded by an adjustment period for the players and coaches to start the 2023-24 season. A feeling-out process...
Max Domi, Calle Jarnkrok, Nick Robertson, Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: Chris Tanev’s fit in Toronto, Matthew Knies & Nick Robertson’s development, and...

December has arrived, and we're now past the first quarter mark of the season. To mark the occasion, we have an extended notes version...
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs

The critical timeline and fair contract parameters for William Nylander amid a (so far)...

As the numbers continued to pile up night after night during William Nylander’s season-opening 17-game point streak, it felt like his asking price in...
Auston Matthews & William Nylander

Leafs Notebook: The early returns on Matthews – Nylander / Tavares – Marner, Simon...

You wouldn’t always know it based on the discourse around the team, but the Maple Leafs are 7-2-1 in their last 10 and are...
Brad Treliving, Maple Leafs GM

As the blueline gets healthy and the depth options impress, where do the Maple...

The Maple Leafs’ defense has been a major talking point throughout the 2023-24 season in part because General Manager Brad Treliving has been fairly...
Timothy Liljegren, Toronto Maple Leafs #37

Leafs Notebook: Takeaways from the nine-game point streak, sorting out the defense pairings, and...

After earning a least a point in 14 of their last 15 games, the Maple Leafs have climbed to sixth in the NHL in...
TJ Brodie, Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: What’s driving the defensive regression so far in 2023-24?

Early in the season, Joseph Woll took over the Maple Leafs’ net and was stringing quality starts together.  His .916 save percentage is well...
Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: A model game vs. LA, Mitch Marner’s ice time, power-play tweaks, David...

First and foremost, Happy New Year to the MLHS community! I hope the holidays treated you all nicely. For the Leafs, the holiday break was...
Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, William Nylander celebrate a Toronto Maple Leafs goal

Leafs Notebook: The ice-time breakdown on defense, Tyler Bertuzzi heating up, and what’s the...

Putting aside the William Nylander contract extension (my analysis can be found here), there is a lot to discuss around the Maple Leafs' three-game...
William Nylander, Maple Leafs vs. Sabres

The William Nylander contract: How big of a leap of faith is it, and...

The worst-kept secret in the league is out: On Monday, the Maple Leafs officially announced that they have come to terms with William Nylander...
John Tavares, Maple Leaf s vs. Panthers

Leafs Notebook: The Atlantic Division landscape at the halfway mark, Sheldon Keefe’s odd line...

With the Maple Leafs officially reaching the halfway point of their 2023-24 schedule, it’s a good time to take a look around at the...
TJ Brodie, Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: TJ Brodie’s regression, the struggling special teams, secondary scoring, and the bizarre...

The Maple Leafs finished their four-game West Coast trip at 2-2-0 and were tied in the third period of both regulation losses. It’s not an...
Brad Treliving, Maple Leafs GM

As the buy vs. sell debate rages on, how should Brad Treliving approach the...

As the All-Star break approaches, the Maple Leafs find themselves in a playoff spot, but several quality teams are nipping at their heels. As...
Tyler Bertuzzi, Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: Tyler Bertuzzi’s promising play in tight-checking games, Nick Robertson’s recent impact &...

The Maple Leafs swept a home-and-home against the Winnipeg Jets to enter the bye week on a high note.  With the team off for a...
Brendan Shanahan, Toronto Maple Leafs President

Leafs Notebook: Lineup & power-play adjustments during Morgan Rielly’s suspension, and is it time...

A lot can happen in a week, but while sorting through all of the current storylines in Leafs Nation, it’s important not to bury...
Bobby McMann, Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: TJ Brodie’s improvement on the left side, Bobby McMann’s potential, and the...

It was a much-needed week of positive results for the Maple Leafs. Playing three opponents that likely won’t make the playoffs this season, the Leafs...
Sheldon Keefe, Maple Leafs bench

Big-picture takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ seven-game winning streak

The Maple Leafs are on their first seven-game winning streak in 20 years. It is almost hard to believe it's been so long, but stringing...
Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, William Nylander, Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: John Tavares’ buy-in, a credible fourth-line duo, Tyler Bertuzzi’s power-play success, and...

The Maple Leafs are streaking. Earlier today, I broke down some of the big-picture takeaways from their seven-game winning tear with a focus on ice-time...
Sheldon Keefe, Toronto Maple Leafs bench

Brad Treliving spoke of Sheldon Keefe returning as a “second job.” Now we’re seeing...

Throughout every Maple Leafs season, we discuss so many topics and themes about the team in this space that it behooves me to track...

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