Toronto Maple Leafs: 10 Big Surprises so Far This Year

Perhaps the biggest surprise so far this season with regards to the Toronto Maple Leafs is their 12-8-2 record.

Despite a mediocre 5-5-1 record in their November games, the Leafs have managed to stay atop the Northeast Division where they're now sharing the lead with the white-hot Boston Bruins.

There are a number of other interesting storylines surrounding the Leafs, however, and while some of them are pretty obvious to anyone who has been following the Leafs or the NHL in general, others may not be as noticeable.

Here are 10 (mostly good) things which have surprised me about the Leafs so far this year.

Nikolai Kulemin's Goal Total

In my first article for B/R, I predicted that each member of the MGK line would have career years again in 2011-12, just like they all had the year prior.

Oops.

In 22 games played, Nikolai Kulemin has two goals. He's on pace for about seven goals on the year. Thank God his cap hit isn't close to $7.5 million.

To put this into perspective, Joey Crabb has three goals and David Steckel has four.

Hopefully Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur get well soon so the old line can reunite and hopefully start lighting it up again.

By the way, this is the only "bad" surprise on the list, so it does get better.

Phil Kessel's Points Compared to Last Year

In 22 games played this season, Phil Kessel has 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points.

Last year, he had 32 goals and 32 assists in 82 games for a career-high 64 points.

That means Kessel only needs two more points to be halfway to his career-high point total. Assuming he gets them within the next week, he'll still have almost three quarters of the season to put up the other half.

Looks like Kessel's not just going to have another career year in terms of points, but a breakout year.

Pretty much everyone expected him to put up 30+ goals this year, but from the way things are going, he could hit 30 sometime in January.

Joffrey Lupul Tied for 3rd in League for Points

Kessel has been getting a lot of attention for leading the league in goals and points, but Joffrey Lupul is only four points back from Kessel.

I don't think anyone saw this one coming.

They've shown no signs of slowing down either. They've got great chemistry together and are playing every game like they mean it.

No number one centre? No problem.

Joffrey Lupul's Points Compared to His Career High

Lupul's career-high in points is 53—28 goals, 25 assists—achieved in 2005-06 as a member of the Anaheim Ducks.

This year, in only 22 games, he has 26 points—11 goals, 15 assists.

So basically, he's pretty much halfway to matching his best year in terms of points and we've still got 60 more games to play.

Hopefully he'll be able to crack the 30-goal barrier.

That would be huge for a guy who only, relatively recently, came back from a nearly career-ending injury.

Maybe he'll even get some recognition for being a bona fide NHL top liner.

Tyler Bozak Playing Well on Top Line

Tyler Bozak may not stay on the top line for long because of Grabovski's imminent return, but he has been making the most of it.

He and Kessel have always had chemistry together, but even more so this year.

Bozak seems to have matured as a player since last year and his on-ice awareness seems to have greatly improved as well.

He has 14 points in 20 games and is a respectable plus-four.

Who thought Bozak was going to be a plus player this year?

Actually, I did. Not that I'm boasting or anything.

Besides, I could be proved wrong after all is said and done.

Then again, the way things are going...

By the way, Bozak is only 18 points away from matching his career-high in points, set last year. Looks like it's going to be a career year for yet another Leaf.

Phaneuf Tied with Oveckhin for Points

Dion Phaneuf has slowed down a little from his point-per-game pace to start the season, but he's still doing pretty well.

He has 16 points, which ties him with Alex Ovechkin.

Sure, Ovechkin's in a bit of a slump, but it's still something you can boast about, especially 20-something games in the season.

Could you imagine if, in a few months, Phaneuf is still tied with Ovechkin in terms of points? Hand him the Norris and plan the parade!

But seriously, Phaneuf has been very steady for the Leafs and that's exactly what everyone expected from him.

It was just a little odd to see him with the same number of points as Ovechkin.

Club Winning Despite Key Injuries

James Reimer has been out for over a month, but the Leafs have played well enough to be taken seriously as a playoff contender.

Colby Armstrong has been out for all but five games this year. Despite being a third-line guy for the Leafs, Armstrong is one of the most important guys on the team, not just because of his style of play, but his personality.

Army and Reims are probably the two most popular players on the team and both are sorely missed on the ice.

However, let's not forget key contributors Grabovski and MacArthur have also missed a bunch of games. These guys will be counted on to provide much-needed offensive support for Lupul and Kessel.

Another guy who really needs to come back ASAP is Mike Brown, someone who plays hard every shift. He's a great PK guy, he's great at the cycle game, he's a very fast skater and is able to create energy with his energetic and physical style of play.

As an aside, they should sign Brown to a Maxime Talbot-type contract, but with a slightly lower cap hit.

Anyway, despite missing a lot of key guys, the Leafs have still been able to win enough to stay afloat.

And the good news is, some of the injured players are poised to return.

David Steckel, Face-off Wizard

David Steckel, at 59.5 percent, is currently second the league in face-offs won behind Jonathan Toews, who has won 62.1 percent of his draws.

Steckel is tops in the league with 71 shorthanded face-offs won (versus 52 lost for a 58.2 percent success rate). Patrice Bergeron and Tomas Plekanec are a distant second at 47 wins apiece.

Winning draws isn't glamourous and sometimes goes unnoticed, but it's a huge part of the game because it gives your team possession of the puck.

The more draws you win, the more time your team spends with the puck.

I was initially confused as to why GM Brian Burke brought in another fourth-liner—for a fourth-round pick, no less—but it's looking like a great deal now.

The Gardiner Express

Yes, I know it's called the Gardiner Expressway, but that wouldn't make Jake Gardiner sound like a fast skater.

Anyway...

How about that Gardiner kid?

He skates fast, skates well, has great vision, makes smart plays, makes great passes and is usually in good position.

It was a nice surprise that he made it onto the team out of camp, but his consistently high level of play has been an even bigger surprise.

That Beauchemin trade is looking more and more lopsided every passing day.

Speaking of which, Gardiner has seven points—all assists—so far, to go along with a minus-one rating.

Francois Beauchemin currently has six points—2 goals, 4 assists—and is a minus-six.

I wonder if Anaheim and Toronto are still BFFs. Is Bobby Ryan available?

Leafs' PK and PP

I don't think anyone is surprised that the Leafs' penalty killing unit is running at 76.5 percent efficiency, good for 27th in the league. A little disappointed maybe, but not surprised.

The PK has actually looked a bit better than it was last year, but despite the more aggressive style and more shot blocking, they've still been letting in a lot of goals while down a man.

The real surprise is that the Leafs are 22.6 percent on the power play, good for third in the league.

I guess it helps when you have a guy like Phaneuf on the point and the league's number one and number three point-getters buzzing around the net.

Now if they could only get their PK to third-best...