Toronto Maple Leafs – Page 2 – Cheering The Logo

By JD Lagrange – Living in Canada, you almost have to be a hockey fan. While Lacrosse is, for some odd reasons, considered to be the National Sport, hockey is the passion. It’s what gets the motor ticking, the sport most followed in this beautiful and vast country. And with seven teams to choose from, you have fans everywhere. The issue? All major sports’ media outlets are located in… Toronto.

It’s the biggest market, the biggest population, the biggest advertising dollars and for those reasons, the Maple Leafs are the most talked about franchise on those networks. It certainly isn’t based on success as the Montreal Canadiens have won almost twice as many Stanley Cups. The Maple Leafs haven’t won the Cup since 1967 and haven’t even won a playoffs’ series in nearly two decades!

But with the Toronto bias, comes injustice and frustration across the nation. The other six teams get very little coverage, or the attention that they deserve. If a Leafs’ player is doing well, that’s all you hear about on those networks. Auston Matthews, last season, polarized their attention due to his 60 goals pace and eventually achievement. Yet, in Edmonton, Connor McDavid had a better season. This year, it was all about Mitch Marner and his points’ streak. But the Toronto bias is having its fair share of humble pie this season…

Connor McDavid: 124 points
Auston Matthews: 62 points

That's exactly double! So, Toronto media, NEVER, EVER, do we want to hear the comparisons between the two. Not in the same category!#LeafsForever #LetsGoOilers #Leafs #Oilers pic.twitter.com/QG9CvNMbfe
— JD Lagrange (@JD_Lagrange) March 8, 2023

So on this time changing weekend, I felt compelled to set the clocks to the right time. Is Auston Matthews really in the same category as Connor McDavid as a player? Not just this season, but overall? I was under the impression that he’s not and I have set to show why… coming from someone OUTSIDE of Toronto.

I’ve chosen to compare Matthews to two other centers that are closer to his skills’ set. Just to appease the Toronto fanatics, I’ve also included McDavid’s comparables below those tables. Have a look for yourself.

THIS SEASON

	DRAISAITL	MACKINNON	MATTHEWS
HEIGHT	6’2″	6’0″	6’3″
WEIGHT	208	200	205
DRAFT	3rd overall 2014	1st overall 2013	1st overall 2016
GP	64	52	57
G	41	27	29
A	56	50	33
PTS	97	77	62
PTS/GP	1.52	1.48	1.09
TOI/GP	22:00	22:22	19:57
PP TOI/GP	4:02	4:04	3:39
SH TOI/GP	0:42	0:07	0:03
FO WON	613	413	429
FO %	53.7%	45.5%	52.9%
CAP HIT	$8.5M	$6.3M	$11.64M

McDavid

GP	G	A	PTS	PTS/GP	TOI/GP	PP TOI/GP	SH TOI/GP	FO WON	FO %
66	64	70	124	1.88	22:42	3:59	1:18	419	51.9%

So when considering all aspects, the rankings, this season, are:

Connor McDavid
Leon Draisaitl
Nathan MacKinnon
Auston Matthews

LAST 3 SEASONS

Predictable as always, you know that Leafs’ fans will claim as an excuse that their boy is not having a good season and the comparison isn’t fair. So in all fairness, let’s include last year too. In fact, to get an even clearer picture, why don’t we include the year before too?

	DRAISAITL	MACKINNON	MATTHEWS
GP	200	165	182
G	127	79	130
A	164	151	104
PTS	291	230	234
PTS/GP	1.46	1.39	1.29
TOI/GP	22:12	21:16	20:40
PP TOI/GP	4:01	3:56	3:19
SH TOI/GP	0:46	0:04	0:05
FO WON	2,072	1,034	1,570
FO %	54.1%	46.1%	54.0%

McDavid

GP	G	A	PTS	PTS/GP	TOI/GP	PP TOI/GP	SH TOI/GP	FO WON	FO %
202	131	221	352	1.74	22:18	3:56	0:32	1,297	52.1%

The past three seasons combined, Connor McDavid has scored one more goal than Auston Matthews. Granted, he has managed to better survive the grind of a NHL season, having played more games. For the fact that he’s been healthier and outscored the Toronto protege is an eye opener. Points-wise? It’s not even close.

The rankings for the past three seasons are as follows:

Connor McDavid
Leon Draisaitl
Nathan MacKinnon & Auston Matthews (tie)

PLAYOFFS

Many players are catalogued with their playoffs’ performances, in addition to their regular season. Nathan MacKinnon is the only one of those players with a Stanley Cup but let’s look at their personal contribution to the success of their team, career-wise.

	DRAISAITL	MACKINNON	MATTHEWS
GP	37	70	39
G	18	41	17
A	41	52	16
PTS	59	93	33
PTS/GP	1.59	1.33	0.85
TOI/GP	22:02	21:44	21:19
PP TOI/GP	3:57	3:59	3:18
SH TOI/GP	0:37	0:03	0:02
FO WON	323	415	335
FO %	48.9%	46.0%	53.3%

McDavid

GP	G	A	PTS	PTS/GP	TOI/GP	PP TOI/GP	SH TOI/GP	FO WON	FO %
37	21	34	55	1.49	23:33	3:57	0:51	175	45.6%

The playoffs’ rankings are:

Leon Draisaitl
Connor McDavid
Nathan MacKinnon
Auston Matthews

CONCLUSION

It is clear, reading comments on social media, that few Eastern fans follow the Western Conference teams closely. For example, I don’t know how often I’ve read Leafs’ fans claiming that Matthews is a 200-foot player while downplaying McDavid’s defensive game. It cannot be further from the truth. This season, McDavid is used regularly on the penalty kill even, something Matthews, Draisaitl and MacKinnon don’t do.

I felt that last year’s votes for the Hart and Lindsay Awards were an insult to McDavid, who was (and still is) the best player in the world. I get it, just like in the times of Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby’s prime seasons, some people (players included) get tired of always praising the same guy over and over again. So they try to be “different” and “imaginative”, and try changing things up. Last season, too many were mesmerized by the 60 goals, in my opinion. Matthews was the best goals’ scorer. He was not the best player.

In fact, Matthews has never been the very best player in the NHL and he doesn’t have what it takes to ever be. This is McDavid’s league and guys like Draisaitl, MacKinnon and yes, Matthews, are all a notch below the Oilers’ number 97. Let’s see what the upcoming Connor (Bedard) can do one day…

By JD Lagrange – Well, we have reached the quarter mark of the NHL 2022-23 season. There are plenty of surprises and deceptions to go around. For one, raise your hand if you thought that 21 games into the season, the Montreal Canadiens would be two games above .500, ahead of the Florida Panthers and two points from a Wild Card spot? Or that the New Jersey Devils would be second in the Eastern Conference? How many had Dallas’ Jason Robertson being second to Connor McDavid in the NHL scoring race?

Just for fun, how many people thought that Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki would both have three more goals than… Auston Matthews? What? Yes, that’s right! Let’s take a deeper look into that one, just for fun. Keep in mind, we’re looking at the 21 games mark here, so we’re not counting Toronto’s 22nd game against Minnesota last night although for the record, Matthews was held pointless. The Habs haven’t played their 22nd game yet.

Teams stats

First, let’s set the table, shall we? We must look at the teams’ stats, as the success or depth of a team will inevitably affect a player’s individual’s statistics as well.

TORONTO		MONTREAL
21	GP	21
11	W	11
5	L	9
5	OT	1
27	PTS	23
.643	PTS %	.548
61	GF	65
55	GA	73
26.5%	PP %	16.4%
107:20	PP TIME	102:00
78.6%	PK %	80.0%
30.3	Shots/GP	30.4
28.5	SA/GP	33.3

As we can see, there’s no doubt that the Leafs have a more effective power play than the Habs so far. It is important to note that they have also played almost five and a half minutes more with the man advantage than Martin St-Louis’ team.

I don’t know about you but I find surprising to see that the Canadiens score a bit more than the Maple Leafs. But boy do the Habs allow a lot of goals! Perhaps, it’s because they also allow a lot of shots, but with two backup goaltenders and such a young defense, it’s not alarming… yet.

Matthews vs Caufield

Now, to the nitty gritty. In the red corner, weighing in a 174 pounds, 5-foot 7-inches tall, the sophomore sensation, the challenger, Cole Caufield! His opponent, in the blue corner, weighing in a 208 pounds, 6-foot 3-inches tall, the pride and joy of Toronto-based media, the reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner, Auston Matthews!

Without further ado, here are the two players’ statistics after 21 games.

MATTHEWS		CAUFIELD
25	AGE	21
6’3″	HEIGHT	5’7″
208	WEIGHT	174
21	GP	21
9	G	12
12	A	9
21	PTS	21
1.00	PTS/GP	1.00
+1	+/-	0
3	EVG	10
10	EV PTS	17
6	PPG	2
11	PP PTS	4
20:34	TOI/GP	18:05
16:46	EV TOI/GP	15:05
3:46	PP TOI/GP	3:01
79:00	PP TOI	63:14
89	SHOTS	78
10.1%	SH%	15.4%
24	GvA	9
21	TkA	6
$11,640,250	CAP HIT	$880,833

Note that Caufield, in spite of being much smaller in stature, has a substantial advantage in his production at even strengths. Matthews loves when his team is on the power play. One would think that it would be reverse, right?

And look how much more time the Leafs’ center has spend on the power play than Caufield. Cut that time and make it equal, chances are you have even less production from Matthews, if you keep his goals by 60 minutes equal.

I won’t get in too much details about the cap hit since Caufield is still on his entry level contract. But you can be assured that he won’t make $11.6 million. Think more in the range of Nick Suzuki, between $7.5 to $8 million.

It appears as though Matthews is better at retrieving the puck, although one could argue that perhaps, you don’t have the puck when you have to take it away from your opponent. But look at the giveaways… that’s not in the same ball park.

Dynamic duos

I figured, why not bring in Mitch Marner and Nick Suzuki into the equation, as they are the dynamic duos of each team. For this exercise, I have added their production and salaries, and averaged their combined ice time.

MATTHEWS/MARNER		CAUFIELD/SUZUKI
25	AVG AGE	22
21	GP	21
13	G	24
32	A	21
45	PTS	45
2.14	PTS/GP	2.14
+2	+/-	+3
7	EVG	17
23	EV PTS	34
6	PPG	6
21	PP PTS	10
21:06	TOI/GP (AVG)	19:23
16:13	EV TOI/GP (AVG)	15:37
3:41	PP TOI/GP (AVG)	3:05
154:19	PP TOI	129:13
132	SHOTS	124
9.8%	SH%	19.4%
51	GvA	23
43	TkA	16
$22,543,250	CAP HIT	$8,755,833

Once again, we notice the same tendency as we see in the teams’ stats and the Matthews/Caufield comparison. The difference is the amount of time on the power play and the production at even strength versus with the man advantage. Although both duos have a combined six goals with the man advantage, the Leafs’ duo has more points.

But also, look at the shots percentage. The Canadiens’ duo is just under 10% more efficient, selective and successful in finding the back of the net when shooting the puck.

The trend with giveaways and takeaways is the same as what we’ve noticed in the Caufield vs Matthews comparison. The Leafs’ duo is coughing up the puck more, therefore having to retrieve it more too. Caufield and Suzuki are better at protecting and keeping the puck, and are twice more effective at not giving it away.

All in all, I’ll let you draw your own conclusions as you can make stats say whatever you want, and people do. But force is to admit that so far this season, the Canadiens are very happy with what they have in Suzuki and Caufield and the fact that we can put those two guys against the Leafs’ duo speaks for their skills and progression.

More reading…