Leafs: 5 Storylines to Follow in the Second Half of the Season
By James Reeve
The Toronto Maple Leafs kicked off the second half of the season off with a win, but what are the storylines fans should pay attention to moving forward?
The Toronto Maple Leafs have reached the midway point of their campaign, and things have been going exceptionally well for a supposedly rebuilding team. Let’s take a look at five storylines that will be interesting to watch for the remainder of the regular season:
1) Calder Trophy Chase
Auston Matthews is a stud.
Matthews burst into the NHL with a 4-goal night against the Ottawa Senators and, barring a brief scoring drought early on, he has been the player the Leafs expected him to be after picking him first overall.
The 19-year old leads NHL rookies in both goals (22) and totals points (38), after scoring in the Leafs’ recent 4-3 victory over their rivals, the Buffalo Sabres.
Matthews is right up there in the conversation for Calder Trophy candidates, awarded to the best rookie in the NHL each season.
At one stage, Winnipeg Jets winger Patrik Laine was leading the league’s rookies in point – but he had played fewer games than Matthews.
Laine is now out ‘indefinitely’ with a concussion, which will severely hamper his chances of stealing away an award that should deservedly be given to the Leafs’ young centre.
Mitch Marner, who has also been a revelation with the Leafs this season, leads the NHL’s rookies in assists, with 26, and is also currently third in total points scored for rookies.
The 2015 fourth overall draft pick has five more assists than second-place Matthew Tkachuk and looks like he could also be in the conversation for the Calder come the end of the season.
Matthews is the clear favourite, but if Marner is in the running then the chase for the Calder Trophy could certainly be an entertaining one for Leafs fans.