NHL analyst predicts major change coming to Toronto Maple Leafs top powerplay unit
The Toronto Maple Leafs could be on track to make a major change to their powerplay heading into the 2024-25 season after an abysmal showing in the playoffs.
Every hockey fan on the planet knows that the Toronto Maple Leafs failed in the first round of the playoffs last year. At this point, it has practically become tradition in the NHL that the Leafs embarrass themselves as soon as the regular season wraps up. There have been many reasons why the team hasn't been able to get over the hump, but last season one particular reason was special teams. In particular, the powerplay.
During their seven-game series against the Bruins last year, the Leafs got 21 opportunities on the man advantage. That is an average of three per game, which is a decent amount especially for the playoffs. However, the star-studded lineup was unable to take advantage, scoring just once for an efficiency of 4.8 percent. As such, it stands to reason why the Leafs replaced Guy Boucher with Marc Savard as the powerplay coach. According to Leafs reporter Jonas Siegel, Savard may make one major change to the top unit this season by replacing Morgan Rielly.
At this point, we will just have to wait and see what Savard does. However, his recent track record shows that he knows how to run a powerplay even on a team with far less firepower than Toronto. He ran Calgary's powerplay last season and while it was quite poor for much of the season, he had Calgary's top scorers in sync by the end of the season, as they converted at a 27.1% rate over the last six weeks of the season or so.
Ekman-Larsson did not play a top powerplay role for the Panthers last season, but he did show that he is still capable of putting up points at the NHL level with 9 goals and 32 points in 80 games. If he does replace Rielly we could very well see him hit the 40 or even 50 point mark given his puck skills.
Will the Leafs powerplay become a proper strength next season? Will Marc Savard figure out how to get the most out of his players? Will Ekman-Larsson have a resurgent year in Toronto? Be sure to follow the Leafs closely next season to find out the answers to these questions.
Source: MapleLeafsDaily
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Expected to Take on Larger Role Than Expected with Maple Leafs
| POLL | ||
20 SEPTEMBRE | 103 ANSWERS NHL analyst predicts major change coming to Toronto Maple Leafs top powerplay unit Do you think Oliver Ekman-Larsson will replace Morgan Rielly on the Leafs' top powerplay next season? | ||
| Yes | 53 | 51.5 % |
| No | 50 | 48.5 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
