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| Does Phil Kessel Have to Outperform the Top Players on the Other Playoff Contenders for Toronto to Make the Playoffs? |
Please note the players' age when reviewing the stats. It allows you to determine where a player is within their career. Peak performing years are typically ages 24 to 26 for forwards; 26 to 28 for defenceman; and 26 to 30 for goaltenders. Of course, there can be exceptions to this rule of thumb. We list the player's age at the start of the season.
| Toronto Maple Leafs Players Post All-Star Game 2010-11 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Age | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PPG | S% |
Phil Kessel | 23 | RW | 20 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 11.8% |
Nikolai Kulemin | 24 | RW | 20 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 21.4% |
Mikhail Grabovski | 26 | C | 20 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 9.7% |
Clarke MacArthur | 25 | LW | 20 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 11.9% |
Dion Phaneuf | 25 | D | 20 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 5.3% |
Colby Armstrong | 27 | RW | 16 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 6.9% |
Joffrey Lupul | 27 | LW | 15 | 4 | 4 | 8 | -6 | 1 | 10.5% |
Tomas Kaberle* | 32 | D | 9 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 7.1% |
Tim Brent | 27 | C | 20 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 9.5% |
Luke Schenn | 20 | D | 20 | 1 | 6 | 7 | -2 | 0 | 3.1% |
Tyler Bozak | 24 | C | 20 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -11 | 1 | 12.0% |
Darryl Boyce | 26 | C | 20 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 28.6% |
Carl Gunnarsson | 23 | D | 17 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
Kris Versteeg* | 24 | LW | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16.6% |
Joey Crabb | 27 | RW | 18 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9.5% |
Jay Rosehill | 25 | LW | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 12.5% |
Brett Lebda | 28 | D | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6.7% |
Mike Brown | 25 | LW | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
Francois Beauchemin* | 30 | D | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 12.5% |
Keith Aulie | 21 | D | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.3% |
Fredrick Sjostrom | 27 | LW | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 6.3% |
Mike Komisarek | 28 | D | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 0 | 0.0% |
Christian Hanson | 24 | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Toronto Maple Leafs Goalies Post All-Star Game 2010-11 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalie | Age | GP | W | L | T | GA Avg | SO | Save Pct | |
James Reimer | 22 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2.70 | 2 | .917 | |
J-S Giguere | 33 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3.11 | 0 | .912 | |
Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin have firmly established themselves as 25 to 30-goal scorers. Although Kulemin's 9 goals in 20 games suggests he has more upside than 30 goals, it will be difficult to achieve without scoring power play goals. In Grabovski's case, his power play goal scoring suggests he can be a 30 plus goal-scorer. A player's power play goal scoring proficiency gives him the leverage to go beyond the 30-goal plateau.
At first look, Phil Kessel's scoring production might disappoint you in spite of him leading the team in scoring since the all-star break. You want to see something that suggests an emerging 40 to 50-goal scorer. However, he has scored 9 goals in his last 13 games. Perhaps, you have wait for them to play the final 13 games before making a final judgement. In addition, you have to wonder if having Tyler Bozak as his centre held back Phil Kessel.
James Reimer's stats do not appear to be as spectacular as before the all-star break. However, they are solid enough to contribute to a lusty .687 winning percentage after the all-star break. Like Kessel, you want to wait until the end of the season to pass final judgement on Reimer.
Tyler Bozak is having a most trying season. Even in the playoff drive, he went 11 games without a point after the all-star break. This is in stark contrast to his post-Olympics play last season where he was the sole catalyst to Phil Kessel's and Viktor Stalberg's goal scoring. How can the Leafs make the playoffs with such anaemic scoring from its 1st line centre? Can Bozak revive his game enough to help the team make the playoffs? Hopefully, his 3 goals and 2 assists in the last 9 games signifies a revival in his game.
Perhaps, the best way to view the Leafs playoff chances is to contrast them with the teams (New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers, Florida Panthers, and Buffalo Sabres) they were chasing after the all-star break. We also include New Jersey Devils in the comparison because of their great playoff charge.
Eastern Division Playoff Race Scoring Post All-Star Game 2010-11 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Age | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PPG | S% |
Ilya Kovalchuk | 27 | New Jersey | 19 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 17.5% |
Thomas Vanek | 26 | Buffalo | 19 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 9 | 1 | 13.7% |
Phil Kessel | 23 | Toronto | 20 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 11.8% |
Drew Stafford | 24 | Buffalo | 18 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 21.6% |
Ryan Callahan | 25 | Rangers | 18 | 10 | 7 | 17 | -5 | 6 | 17.5% |
Nikolai Kulemin | 24 | Toronto | 20 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 21.4% |
Mikhail Grabovski | 26 | Toronto | 20 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 9.7% |
Erik Cole | 31 | Carolina | 19 | 6 | 9 | 15 | -3 | 0 | 12.2% |
Andrew Ladd | 24 | Atlanta | 17 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 19.6% |
Travis Zajac | 25 | New Jersey | 19 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 12.2% |
Patrik Elias | 34 | New Jersey | 19 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 4.1% |
As you can see, the Leafs compare very well to other scorers on playoff contenders. However, making the playoffs might require Phil Kessel to outperform Ilya Kovalchuk and the other players. Please note Phil Kessel is the youngest player in the group. New Jersey's Patrik Elias is the oldest in the group. Will this be a factor for Toronto and New Jersey in their final games?
We can see a similar dichotomy between Toronto and New Jersey when we look at the goaltenders.
We can see a similar dichotomy between Toronto and New Jersey when we look at the goaltenders.
East Division Playoff Race Goalies Post All-Star Game 2010-11 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goalie | Age | Team | GP | W | L | T | GA Avg | SO | Save Pct | |
Johan Hedberg | 37 | New Jersey | 10 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1.43 | 2 | .943 | |
Martin Brodeur | 38 | New Jersey | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1.46 | 0 | .932 | |
Cam Ward | 26 | Carolina | 18 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 2.60 | 0 | .920 | |
James Reimer | 22 | Toronto | 17 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2.70 | 2 | .917 | |
Tomas Vokoun | 34 | Florida | 14 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 2.80 | 0 | .917 | |
Henrik Lundqvist | 28 | Rangers | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 2.41 | 2 | .912 | |
Ryan Miller | 30 | Buffalo | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2.74 | 0 | .911 | |
Ondrej Pavelec | 23 | Atlanta | 12 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3.44 | 0 | .884 | |
James Reimer has matched well against Cam Ward, Tomas Vokoun, Henrik Lundqvist, and Ryan Miller. In fact, he has outplayed them as a group. He is the youngest goalie in the group. New Jersey's Martin Brodeur and Johan Heberg are by far the oldest and "stoned" their opponents during the playoff drive. Again, will the ages of Toronto and New Jersey's goalies be a factor in the playoff drive? Will James Reimer sustain a .920 save percentage required to compete with the other contenders? Will Hedberg and Brodeur maintain their spectacular play?
A closer look at the contending teams' records provides more insight.
Eastern Division Playoff Contending Teams Post All-Star Break Records | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | GP | Wins | Losses | OT/SO | Points | Win Pct | vs Chase Teams |
New Jersey | 19 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 33 | .868 | 8 - 0 - 1 |
Toronto | 20 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 27 | .675 | 5 - 0 - 2 |
Buffalo | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | .625 | 4 - 2 - 1 |
Carolina | 19 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 18 | .473 | 4 - 3 - 4 |
Florida | 21 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 18 | .428 | 2 - 2 - 3 |
Rangers | 18 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 15 | .416 | 1 - 4 - 0 |
Atlanta | 17 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 13 | .382 | 4 - 3 - 3 |
Although, Toronto is chasing Carolina, Buffalo, and New York Rangers, they should be concerned about New Jersey. Their post all-star break record looks miraculous! Toronto does play both Buffalo and Carolina within the next two and a half weeks. However, Toronto also plays New Jersey in the second last game of the season. Will this be the deciding game for the playoffs? Will the youth of Toronto's top players unravel their poise? Will New Jersey's top veterans continue to play like ageless wonders?
Regardless of the answers, it should be exciting to watch and reveal what is in store next season for Toronto Maple Leafs fans.
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