Leafs past the First Checkpoint

So as is often the case in recent years, claims that the Maple Leafs are in big trouble early in an NHL season are, once again, dead wrong.

Just like those predictions that have come every spring that the core group of the team just HAS to be broken up and ABSOLUTELY WILL after the latest post-season disappointment.

Sunday morning’s (Toronto time) win over Minnesota on William Nylander’s spectacular overtime winner pushed Toronto to 10-5-2 on the season, good enough for a .647 winning percentage. That’s not quite as good as last year’s .677 mark, but good enough to be tied with Winnipeg for ninth best in the 32-team NHL as of Sunday morning. And the team, we can agree, really hasn’t played well yet.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that a third period collapse against Ottawa at home seemed to indicate big trouble in Leaf-land. Since then, they’ve won four straight largely by scoring 17 goals, which remains the team’s strength.

A few other quite Sunday morning observations:

—Toronto’s fourth line has been utterly transformed into a usable, industrious unit since Bobby McMann replaced Ryan Reaves. Can’t see any reason Reaves returns to action soon.

—Max Domi still can’t score. But he’s playing a hard, energetic game, and an unselfish one, too.

—All the talk about getting players like Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov from Calgary is fine. It’s Toronto, after all. Trades - 99 per cent of which never happen - are always in the air. Moreover, players on expiring contracts know a move to Toronto almost always improves their eyes in the rest of the industry. The Leaf defence would certainly be strengthened with the addition of one or both of the Flames rearguards. But Calgary’s playing better now, which will drive the price up. Also, Toronto is getting good service out of William Lagesson and Simon Benoit, and those players are gaining valuable experience. There’s absolutely no need, it’s clear, for anything to happen soon.

—Tyler Bertuzzi has finally got his legs moving. You have to believe there was an injury there earlier. There was no way he was possibly THAT slow.

—MItch Marner doesn’t have his “A” game going. Not yet. But you have to be impressed with his effort and with his determination to continue to play with creativity even when a more straight-ahead path would be the path for many skill players who aren’t producing as much as they’d like to produce. This is a big year for Marner heading into a possible contract extension next summer, and right now it can’t be easy for him to see Nylander, a free agent next summer, flying so high. But the season is only 17 games old. There’s lots of time and room for different narratives over the course of a season.

—Matthew Knies showed on his goal, and on Morgan Rielly’s goal, why he’s playing with the big boys. On his own score, he started the play with two high skill passes coming out of his own end playing on his wrong wing. Not everybody can do that. And on Rielly’s goal, he supplied the perfect screen. He’s turning into the player the Leafs were waiting for, and insurance in the elite skill department if Nylander decides to head elsewhere next summer.

—Finally, SELF PROMOTION ALERT. Gord Stellick and I, as you may know, came out with a new book “Revival” this fall, based largely on the exploits of the 1977-78 Maple Leafs. If you were interested in all the history of the Leafs with Swedish players, particularly Borje Salming, that’s been front and centre over the past few days, you might want to check the book out. Gord did an amazing interview with Inge Hammarstrom that really gives a different perspective on Toronto’s Swedish invasion back in 1973. Also, we talked with Thommie Bergman, still a part-time scout for the Leafs, who actually preceded Salming and Hammarstrom as Sweden’s first full-time NHL player. You can buy the book at Indigo, order it through this website’s books category, and as of this week you can also order the e-book on Kindle and Kobo. Thanks, on behalf of Gord, for your consideration.