6 things to know about the Toronto Maple Leafs
A lot has changed since the memorable seven-game series in 2013.
The Bruins face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, and the potential is there for another classic duel. The last time the two teams met in the postseason, Boston staged a memorable Game 7 comeback on their way to a 2013 Stanley Cup Finals appearance.
Five years later, the Maple Leafs have emerged from a rebuilding effort. While a few faces remain, much of the roster has been changed. That includes behind the bench, as former Red Wings and Team Canada coach Mike Babcock took charge in 2015.
Before the puck drops, here are a few things to know about the Bruins’ playoff opponent:
There’s trying to end a drought
An ever-present talking point in Toronto is the 51-year period Maple Leafs fans have endured since the team’s last Stanley Cup victory. Despite ranking second among all NHL teams in championships, the Maple Leafs haven’t broken through since 1967.
It’s the 100th anniversary of Toronto’s first title (when they were the Arenas), won in the team’s inaugural season. In the first 49 years, the Maple Leafs made 21 appearances in the Stanley Cup finals, winning a total of 13 times. In the ensuing 51 years, there have been zero finals appearances.
They’ve got a youth movement going
Since the 2013 series between Boston and Toronto, the Bruins have added several talented youngsters to the lineup. The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, have taken the same approach to a new level. The three youngest members of the roster lead the team in points. Auston Matthews (20), Mitchell Marner (20), and William Nylander (21) were each top draft picks from 2014-2016. They have rapidly become indispensable.
Matthews, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2016 draft, is especially talented. He was a prodigy who emerged from an unlikely hockey background: Arizona. And in his first two years, Matthews has more than lived up to the hype:
They’re stocked with veteran leadership
Alongside the prolific younger players, Toronto has a dependable group of veterans scattered across their lines. Patrick Marleau, after two decades in San Jose, signed in Toronto last July. At 38, he’s the oldest player on the Maple Leafs, yet contributed 27 goals and 20 assists in the regular season.
Rob Hainsey, 36, anchors the defense, having helped the Penguins win another Stanley Cup a season ago. And 35-year-old Tomas Plekanec will be a familiar name for Bruins fans, as the Czech played in Montreal for 13 and a half seasons before being traded to the Maple Leafs in February.
Their strength is their depth
In the regular season, the Bruins scored a total of 270 goals, with 99 coming all from their dominant top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak. By contrast, Toronto has produced a much more diversified method of scoring. James van Riemsdyk, who led the Maple Leafs in scoring with 36 goals, spearheads the third line. And Marner, whose 69 points topped the team, skates with the second unit.
Seats for home playoff games are tough to come by
While playoff tickets are inevitably difficult to acquire in any circumstance, Toronto has witnessed an escalation this year. According to the CBC and the Toronto Star, only 96 playoff tickets were put on sale through the team’s box office. Out of more than 18,000 seats in the Air Canada Centre, less than half a percent were made available for purchase.
The reasons for this can be attributed mostly to the fact that more than 90 percent of seats are already accounted for by season ticket holders, corporate owners and ticket scalpers. Balcony standing room seats for Monday’s Game 3 in Toronto are currently selling for more than $220 on StubHub.
Mike Babcock helped with the Bruins’ development
Though he will be behind the opposing bench, two of the Bruins’ best players have Mike Babcock to thank for their achievement at an international level. Both Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand were welcomed into the Team Canada setup at the behest of Babcock, who coached the national team to a gold medal at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
“Maybe he was throwing the dice [including me],” Marchand recently said of his World Cup roster spot. “But it worked out and I’m very thankful for that opportunity.”
Now, of course, Babcock has to find a way to stop two of his former players.
