Toronto Maple Leafs: Five Trending Storylines From the Season So Far

Frederik Andersen Bounce Back

After a rough start to the season, Andersen has been lights out for the Leafs. He has been a big reason why the Leafs have been as good as they have this season, although if they had a better defence in front of him they would probably be in a playoff spot.

It did not come as a surprise to see Andersen struggle at the start as he did not look comfortable in his net coming back from and injury and starting in front of a brand new team. The Leafs has a group of young players that were able to score but struggled defensively and Andersen did not see a lot of action in the preseason.

If Andersen continues his strong play from November it should silence the critics that were questioning the move to trade for him and give him a five-year contract. Given that Andersen came from the Anaheim Ducks, who were a strong defensive team, to the Leafs, who are not on the same level defensively, it is not a surprise to see him struggle in the transition.

One thing is certain, every night that Andersen starts there are not the same questions that people had with Jonathan Bernier, James Reimer (during his slumps) and other Leafs goalies of the past. The real question is who will be his backup goalie with Jhonas Enroth being sent down to the AHL. Antoine Bibeau currently sits behind him in the depth chart but people should wonder if Karri Ramo, Garret Sparks and maybe Jeff Glass are given opportunities to back up Andersen. This cold also mean that Andersen starts more games this season than what the Leafs were expecting, but that would be a good test to see how he plays with a bigger workload.