Toronto Maple Leafs quarter-season report card: Who is the MVP so far?
Goaltending
Andersen. . Staring goalie. A+.
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It is tough to criticize Frederik Andersen’s performance this season because you can argue that he’s been their most important player. Whatever he did in the offseason to prepare for this season should be the plan going forward.
He currently leads the league in wins with 12 and has not lost a game on the road at all this season and has a 2.08 GAA and a .935 sv%. Andersen has won his past six starts last losing on Nov. 1 against the Dallas Stars.
He has given up more than three goals only twice this season and it should make people confident to see him bail out the Leafs more times than he would’ve expected. The only issue is whether he’s been asked to do too much too early into the season.
B-. . Sparks. . Backup goalie
Garret Sparks has had a lot of pressure put on him and while he doesn’t feel like there’s a big sense of urgency, the Leafs want to see results from a goalie they took a chance on.
His last start against the Anaheim Ducks was arguably the best of his career making 39 saves to help the Leafs win in overtime. This was a much-needed game for him after surrendering five goals to the Boston Bruins where many were not too thrilled with his performance.
The 25-year-old still has to show that he can play consistently at an NHL level as he’s allowed 13 goals over four games and a .906 sv%.
Next. William Nylander situation needs to wrap up. dark
What are your grades for the Leafs season so far? What should they worry about and where do you see them projecting the rest of the season.