What's the secret to the recent success of the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Craig Custance: Coach Mike Babcock and rookie scorer Auston Matthews definitely deserve a big dose of credit, but one thing I don't think the Toronto Maple Leafs get enough credit for is the quality veterans kept to surround the impressive rookie class. Nazem Kadri might be the best example of that. He scored his 30th goal of the season on Wednesday against the Blue Jackets, and his line was great. Suddenly the Maple Leafs have a pair of 30-goal centers. That's impressive. A layer of veterans in James van Riemsdyk, Kadri and Leo Komarov is often an overlooked part of a rebuild, and if we're looking for reasons beyond Babcock and Matthews, I'd start there.
Corey Pronman: One of the best rookie classes of the modern era: three of top 4, five of the top 12 and six of the top 19 rookie scorers are Maple Leafs. That's nuts. If William Nylander or Mitch Marner were on other teams and not overshadowed by Matthews, I would be badgered by fans of those clubs for giving Calder Trophy votes to them as rookie of the year. Matthews, Marner and Nylander could potentially combine to score 75 goals this season. You add that much offense to any team, you better make the playoffs.
Rob Vollman: This could be the culmination of all the great decisions the Maple Leafs have made after digging a colossal hole more than three years ago. Specifically, they eventually found takers for the steep contracts, replaced them with well-chosen, value-priced players, invested heavily in coaching (and analytics), moved more toward possession-based hockey and replenished the team's organizational strength -- and how! Give the Maple Leafs full credit for listening to criticism, recognizing their errors and completely changing course. Now, will other struggling teams follow their lead?
Pierre LeBrun: After a 3-2 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes almost two weeks ago, a game that wasn't very pretty to watch, Babcock called it a "thing of beauty" the next day. His message? His team had limited the Hurricanes to five scoring chances. That's what he cares about. Consider their last three daunting opponents: Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets. The Leafs picked up five out of six points from that dance card. That's what real playoff teams do. More telling is how they played defensively. They did a better job protecting the puck, not forcing plays, making safer decisions. You see, it just might be that Babcock, who should be a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year, has managed to finally teach his young offensive thoroughbreds that not every shift has to be about glory. The Leafs are 6-1-1 in their last eight and third in the Atlantic Division, and look very much like a club that's playoff-bound.
Scott Burnside: I agree with Pierre on Babcock's influence on what does appear to be one of the most unlikely playoff stories of the season. It's one thing to tell a young team that the offense will come as long as the defense is there, but it's another for them to believe it, buy in, to play with the belief that it is so. And Pierre's right when you look at how they've collected points in the last couple of weeks, especially after what could have been a season-destroying loss to the Florida Panthers, they seem to have embraced the notion that they are good enough to win any game without having to play fire-wagon hockey. That they have managed to bounce back into third in the Atlantic with rookie-of-the-year hopeful Matthews in a dry spell just adds to what appears to be a team evolving on a seemingly daily basis. But they're not in the clear yet. Goalie Frederik Andersen is playing a lot and the Leafs still have to prove they can handle success, which is another part of the maturing process. But, so far, they have become a team that didn't seem possible early in the season. Jack Adams, meet Mr. Babcock.
Joe McDonald: When you have the best coach in the game, no one should be surprised by the team's success. Babcock brings enthusiasm and his players buy into his message and philosophies. When the Maple Leafs were in the basement of the Atlantic last season, president Brendan Shanahan, general manager Lou Lamoriello and Babcock had a plan in place -- and they did not deviate from it. The group remained consistent because it knew the plan would take time to work, and that's what we're seeing now. Remaining patient with the young roster has paid dividends. Before the majority of the team's younger players won at the NHL level, they learned how to win as a group in the AHL. Shanahan, Lamoriello and Babcock all know how to win a Stanley Cup and the Maple Leafs are learning from the best.