Toronto Maple Leafs: Who's in the Penthouse and Who's in the Doghouse?
Many players on the Leafs have been taking heat from the media and fans alike. Their inadequate play and horrible record have a lot to do with that.
However, there are a few players who have been a spark on this team, while others are as dull as a rubber knife. It may surprise you just who is a spark and who is a dud.
Check out the following list of Leaf players who are either in the performance penthouse or doghouse at the Christmas break.
Luke Schenn
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Luke Schenn is a popular player. Some say he is the best defenseman on the team.
With his team leading 96 hits, Schenn recieves the "Brian Burke Award" for the most pugnacity on the team. Add that to his second ranked 63 blocked shots and you can understand why he is so popular.
But what you may not know is that he is also second worst on the team in giving the puck away. His 46 giveaways is only one behind Francois Beauchemin’s team worst of 47.
Only Ryan Getzlaf of Anaheim has more giveaways (49) than these two in the entire NHL.
Schenn has only 17 takeaways on the season, giving him the distinction of having the worst turnover ratio of any player on the team at minus-29. Knowing that, would you still consider him the best defenseman the Leafs have?
Mike Komisarek
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Mike Komisarek is just not as bad as many who follow the Leafs make him out to be.
Sure he’s made some horrendous blunders. We all remember the tape-to-tape beauty of a pass that Komisarek made to Montreal’s Mike Cammallari.
His shot attempts are lousy as well, missing the net a poor 38.9 percent of the time. But honestly, he is not the worst offender.
He is third on the team with 61 hits and fourth with 45 blocked shots. His 23 giveaways are only fourth worst on the team. Francois Beauchemin has more than twice as many with 47. Thomas Kaberle (36) and Luke Schenn (46) have both turned the puck over more than Komisarek.
Factoring in his 9 takeaways gives Komisarek a minus-14 turnover ratio, which, although a very poor number, is second best among Leaf’s defensemen.
When seen in this light, you have to agree that Komisarek is not the worst defenseman on the team.
Francois Beauchemin
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With 77 blocked shots, Francois Beauchemin leads the team in this category. That is where the accolades end.
Beauchemin has turned the puck over more than any other Leaf and more than every other NHL player, with the exception of Anaheim’s Ryan Gertzlaf, who has done the deed 49 times with eight more games played.
Give Beauchemin another eight games and he will be the worst in the NHL.
Beauchemin has a decent amount of takeaways (19), but is still the second worst on the team in turnover ratio with a whopping minus-28.
Only Luke Schenn is worse at minus-29.
Beauchemin also shoots wide a disproportionate amount of the time. His missed shot attempts clips along at 34.2 percent, which is not the worst on the team, but is still bad enough to make him my pick as the worst Leaf defensemen.
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Fredrik Sjostrom
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Fredrik Sjostrom is my choice for the Leafs' best defensemen even though he is technically a winger.
He has racked up 73 hits, which is good enough for second best on the team, while getting almost 50 percent less ice-time than the top four defensemen.
His nine giveaways are the lowest of any Leaf player.
While this number would be higher if Sjostrom had more ice-time, so too would his takeaways. With seven takeaways on the season, Sjostrom has the best turnover ratio of any Leaf defensemen at minus-2 and that number wouldn't be expected to change much if Sjostrom got more ice-time, which, in my opinion, he deserves.
If that wasn't enough to convince you, Sjostrom leads the entire team in hitting the net.
Only 21.8 percent of his shot attempts get blocked or miss the net. Compare that with Dion Phaneuf’s 38.6 percent or Mike Komisarek’s 38.9 percent and you just might begin to jump on the Fredrik Sjostrom bandwagon with me.
Nikolai Kulemin
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Nikolai Kulemin gets high marks from many who follow the Leafs. He ranks near the top in many offensive categories.
He’s tied for second on the team with two game winners and ranks third in goals (11), points (21) and shooting percentage (14.3).
His plus/minus rating of minus-four looks pretty good on a team that has been out-scored 75 to 102 and is fifth best on the team among starters.
Kulemin also has 44 hits on the season, which ranks him seventh on the team and third among forwards. This more or less gives him the same number of hits as captain Dion Phaneuf, if Dion’s hit total were extrapolated to the 33 games played so far.
Like Phil Kessel, Kulemin does not turn the puck over much. He has 10 giveaways and nine takeaways for a minus-one overall, which again, is pretty decent considering the team he plays for.
He is average or better in every category I checked. Having no poor stats makes Kulemin one of the better players on the team.
No real surprise here.
Clarke MacArthur
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Clarke MacArthur is another player who doesn't have any glaring weaknesses.
He is first on the team in points with 26 and is tied for second in game winners with two. His shooting percentage is 16.4, which puts him second best on the team.
MacArthur is one of the few players who can hit the net, as only 27.6 percent of his shot attempts miss the target. That’s second best on the team.
His 55 hits lead all forwards, giving MacArthur the “Brian Burke Award” as the most truculent offensive player on the team and one of my favorites.
Kris Versteeg
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Kris Versteeg is another player who has been much maligned this year.
His minus-16 plus/minus, the worst on the team, may be the reason why.
He is also the best among Leaf forwards at missing the net, which he does with 34.9 percent of his shot attempts.
Outside of these two glaring weaknesses, Versteeg has played some inspired hockey. His 11.9 shooting percent is fifth on the team. He is fourth in goals with 10 and third in points with 21.
When called upon to win a face off, he is the only Leaf forward mentioned in this article that is above 50 percent.
His five power play goals are good enough for first on the team.
He has 27 blocked shots, which lead all forwards and gives him the "Brian Burke Honorable Mention Award" for the most testosterone on the team.
His 30 takeaways is best on the team as well.
Combined with is comparatively low 12 giveaways, Versteeg leads the team with a plus-18 turnover ratio, by far the best on the team.
Kris leads in more categories than any other Leaf player. Not too bad if you ask me.
Now if he could just hit the net.
Mikhail Grabovski
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Mikhail Grabovski has looked sharp this year.
His 25 points and 4 power play goals are second best on the team. His 12 goals puts him in a tie with Kessel for most on the Leafs.
With 17 giveaways and 20 takeaways (third best on the team), Grabovski is a plus three in the turnover department and among the only three Leafs players who are above zero in this category.
His zero plus/minus is second on the team and first among all players with serious ice-time.
For these reasons, Grabovski is rated as the second best player on the team this year, and a true top-six forward.
That’s probably not much of a surprise though.
Phil Kessel
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Phil Kessel has been taking a lot of heat recently.
Sending two lottery picks to Boston, plus a second rounder, might have something to do with the high expectations placed upon this 23 year old. It could also be his plus/minus rating of minus–14. That’s the second worst on the team outside of Kris Versteeg’s minus–16.
Maybe it's due to his lack of commitment on the defensive end or his unwillingness to hit opponents or go into the corners to do the dirty work.
Regardless, there are many valid reasons why Kessel has not lived up to expectations.
Nevertheless, Kessel is my pick for best player on the team.
Kessel leads the team with three game winning goals. He is also the only Leaf player with a short-handed goal and an overtime winner. That makes him the only clutch player on the team.
He is tied for second on the team in goals with 12 and in power play goals with four. Also, he hits the target with 75 percent of his shots.
While that’s good enough for best on the team, it is not unexpected for a sniper of his caliber.
Perhaps the most interesting stat of all is that he doesn't turn the puck over that much. With only 14 giveaways and 21 takeaways, second most on the team, Kessel is a plus seven in the turnover department.
That’s not too shabby for a Leaf team that is among the league's worst in turnovers.
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