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.

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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Max Domi, Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: A formidable second line, a third line that can score, the PK...

Nothing like back-to-back wins before a week off to quiet down the Toronto market.  Much more significant than the wins, though, was the recipe that...
Sheldon Keefe, Maple Leafs bench

Leafs Notebook: The Maple Leafs’ lack of secondary scoring, and Sheldon Keefe’s questionable line...

What a difference a week makes. It was only seven days ago that the Leafs wrapped up their season-high five-game road trip, owned a winning...
Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: A 5-2-1 start despite Matthews & Marner’s early mediocrity together at five-on-five

Through nearly 10 percent of the season, the Maple Leafs are sitting with a 5-2-1 record and a plus-five goal differential. Their longest road trip...
Joseph Woll, Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: Don’t call it a goalie controversy

This week, we’ll start with the goalie situation. I explicitly call it a "situation" because that’s what it is. What it isn’t, to be clear,...
Sheldon Keefe, Maple Leafs bench

Leafs Notebook: Roster learning curves and early-season adjustments

It’s easy to forget given all of the Maple Leafs’ core players returned this season, but there was a lot of change this summer...
Fraser Minten, Maple Leafs

Leafs Notebook: Scrutinizing the decision to keep Fraser Minten and other thoughts on the...

After a flurry of offseason moves (while keeping the same core) and a training camp that brought some pleasant surprises, the Maple Leafs opening...

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