Toronto Maple Leafs: Reeling Off Two 'Character' Wins More Band-Aid Than Cure

Everyone knows that there is not simply one issue with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but there isn't just one issue with any team really.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have reeled off two consecutive "character" wins over two teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference and find themselves just seven points out of eighth place and only two points away from being in ninth place, which would be considered a success if the season ended tomorrow.

That being said, one glaring problem that the Leafs have, if remedied, could go a long way to solving almost every other one.

That biggest problem the Leafs have is turnovers. Every successful NHL hockey team knows how to control the puck and limit turnovers. Winning has a way of putting a Band-Aid on things, but the only way to cure an epidemic is to eradicate the cause.

Whether it is the offensive zone or defensive giveaways quite often, they turn into scoring chances for the opposition and, while turnovers are certainly part of the ebb and flow of the game, it stands to reason that, if the Toronto Maple Leafs can go from last in the league to around the middle of the league, it could well make the difference.

The leafs are currently scoring 2.19 goals per game, but are allowing 2.89.

Controlling turnovers with a lot more efficiency could quickly bring the team's goals-against average to below the goals-for mark, making the lack of scoring almost irrelevant.

It would of course potentially turn them into the New Jersey Devils, but the Devils have been contenders for most of the last 20 years or so.

The Leafs have turned the puck over a total of 279 times versus taking the puck away or causing a turnover just 187 times, which makes them a -92 in the giveaway department.

The ratio doesn't really mean anything, as the top team in the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins, have turned over the puck 34 more times than they've taken it.

The difference of course is that the Leafs are turning over the puck at a rate of 10.73 time per game, whereas the Penguins are only doing it 5.89 times a game.

You can say what you want about talent levels and superstars, but the fact is, if the Leafs can learn to be smarter with the puck and stronger on it, they'll win more games.

One could also argue the merits of size.  A bigger stronger player is typically harder to move off of the puck, but if you've watched a lot of Leafs games this year, you know it isn't that the Leafs are losing the puck on most occasions, it's that they're giving it away.

Here's a stat that shouldn't come as a surprise to fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tomas Kaberle, Francois Beauchemin and Luke Schenn are all in the league's top ten in giveaways (Schenn and Beauchemin are tied for first among defensemen).

It could be argued that the reason for that stat is because they are among the league leaders in ice time (Beauchemin @ 24:22 in 18th and Schenn @ 22:55 in 37th). The other side of that point is, well, if they give the puck away so much, why are they on the ice so much Mr. Wilson?