Leafs Geeks Podcast: Toronto Maple Leafs

Andrew Berkshire from Sportsnet joins us this week to break down the Leafs using some of his proprietary metrics from Sportlogiq. 1:20 - What is Sportlogiq? 4:10 - What can the public do with microstats from private companies? 14:15 - How bad is Gardiner's turnover rate? 20:44 - Dermott's impressive play. 23:33 - Zaitsev's poor play. 27:27 - "The best forechecker in hockey" 36:41 - Shot Quality vs Shot Quantity. 46:25 - Matthews' ability to generate "Royal Road" passes. 52:29 - What should the Leafs do with JVR?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dylan Fremlin from MapleLeafsNation joins us this week as we try our best to answer listeners' questions sent in over Twitter. Here's a list of the questions: 1:12 – Is Ian still confident in his 17-goal prediction for Hyman? 4:17 – Should Toronto use forwards on their “off-side” on the PP? 12:43 – What should the Leafs do at the trade deadline? 25:13 – If Toronto buy a centre the deadline, who are some potential targets? 35:06 – In 2-5 years, which teams in the East will give the Leafs the most trouble? 42:36 – Who do you want Toronto to pick in the 2018 Draft? (in the 15-25 range) 53:15 – Can you say something positive about Zaitsev? 1:03:54 – Hypothetically, where could Matt Martin be traded and what would the Leafs get for him?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Wheeler from The Athletic joins us this week to go through the Leafs' Top 10 Prospects and break down their seasons. Here's a list of the prospects we discuss: 2:30 - Players who just missed the age cutoff (Johnsson & Aaltonen) 9:46 - Timothy Liljegren (RD) 21:33 - Kasperi Kapanen (RW) 25:59 - Travis Dermott (LD) 30:56 - Carl Grundstrom (LW) 34:35 - Jeremy Bracco (RW) 39:50 - Dmytro Timashov (LW) 42:42 - Eemeli Rasanen (RD) 1:00:12 - Andrew Nielsen (LD), Jesper Lindgren (RD), and Joseph Woll (G)Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gus Katsaros from McKeens, Maple Leafs Hotstove, and Rotoworld joins us this week to break down the Leafs' play in each zone to help explain why they've been struggling lately. Here's a list of the topics we discuss: 1:08 - The Eye Test vs Analytics "debate". 7:38 - Why have the Leafs been struggling? 13:57 - Toronto's DZ play. 19:16 - The pros/cons of the "flip pass". 27:19 - Breaking down Gardiner & Zaitsev. 45:03 - Borgman's potential.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Justin Bourne (former Toronto Marlies video coach, currently writing at The Athletic) joins us this week to help bridge the gap between the eye test and the numbers when it comes to analyzing the Leafs' performance this season. Here's a list of topics we discuss: 1:12 - Travis Dermott's potential. 8:15 - Why have the Leafs been struggling with their breakouts? 14:44 - "Staying Above" in the offensive zone (OZ defence). 19:48 - Why you actually should play it "safe" late in a tie game. 23:39 - The role of fighting in the modern game. 29:03 - Frederik Gauthier's improvement & NHL potential. 32:35 - The Mason Marchment Story. 35:26 - How the Leafs can become a dark horse contender.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the second half of our Midseason Report Cards series, we go through our grades for the Leafs' defencemen, goalie, and coach. Here's a list of the players that we discuss: 1:30 - Rielly 8:12 - Hainsey 13:15 - Gardiner/Zaitsev 23:11 - Borgman 30:49 - Polak 35:55 - Carrick 42:44 - Andersen 43:53 - Babcock 1:03:24 - Closing ThoughtsLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we break down Toronto's forwards' performance at the halfway mark with our official Midseason Report Cards. Here's a list of the forwards we discuss: 4:14 - Matthews 8:32 - Nylander 15:24 - Hyman 18:44 - Marleau 25:10 - Kadri 28:51 - Komarov 34:07 - JVR 40:44 - Marner 46:31 - Bozak 52:56 - Brown 1:01:42 - Martin & MooreLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Biech from Sportsnet650, The Athletic, and CanucksArmy joins us this week to break down our favourite players from the World Juniors. Here's a list of the prospects we discuss: 2:47 - Timothy Liljegren (Sweden, TOR) 9:08 - Elias Pettersson (Sweden, VAN) 12:34 - Alex Nylander (Sweden, BUF) 14:19 - Cale Makar (Canada, COL) 16:44 - Jordan Kyrou (Canada, STL) 22:08 - Sam Steel (Canada, ANA) 23:24 - Taylor Raddysh (Canada, TB) 30:14 - Joseph Woll (USA, TOR) 31:33 - Casey Mittlestadt (USA, BUF) 36:43 - Filip Zadina (Czech, 2018 eligible) 39:26 - Philipp Kurashev (Switzerland, 2018 eligible) 41:32 - Valentin Nussbaumer (Switzerland, 2019 eligible) 45:14 - Samuel Bucek (Slovakia, 2018 overager) 52:07 - Closing Thoughts on the WJC.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthony Petrielli from Maple Leafs Hot Stove joins us this week to break down the Leafs' systems.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prashanth Iyer from The Athletic joins us this week to break down the man, the myth, the legend: Mike Babcock. After 2.5 years of coaching the Leafs and 10 years in Detroit, Prashanth and I discuss some of the trends we've observed over the years. Here's a list of the topics we touch on: 1:27 - Grinders getting lots of ice time (Komarov, Abdelkader) 16:20 - Skilled players struggling to get minutes (Nylander, Hudler) 27:35 - Age bias (Kapanen/Leivo, Nyquist/Tatar) 43:46 - But, Babcock's still probably the best coach in the league.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Scouch (@Scouching) joins us this week to take an early look at some notable prospects in the 2018 NHL Draft. Since the Leafs are very likely to make the playoffs, we narrowed our focus to players projected to go in the mid-late 1st round. Here's a list of the players we discussed: 3:09 - Ryan Merkley (5'11 RHD, Guelph, OHL) 11:31 - Evan Bouchard (6'2 RHD, London, OHL) 16:01 - Isac Lundestrom (6'0 F, Lulea, SHL) 20:14 - Dominik Bokk (6'1 F, Vaxjo, SHL) 27:41 - Jett Woo (6'0 RHD, Moose Jaw, WHL) 30:06 - Noah Dobson (6'3 RHD, Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL) 31:27 - Calen Addison (5'10 RHD, Lethbridge, WHL) 33:27 - Vitali Kravtsov (6'2 RW, Traktor, KHL) 38:53 - Some interesting goalie prospects. 41:09 - Joseph Veleno (6'1 C, Drummondville, QMJHL) 43:12 - Jesperi Kotkaniemi (6'2 C, Assat, Liiga) 45:49 - Wrapping things up.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dylan Fremlin from The Leafs Nation joins us this week to go through our Christmas wishlists for the Maple Leafs this winter. Here's a breakdown of our Christmas wishes: 2:13 - Rielly & Hainsey continuing their stellar play. 12:32 - Icing a good 4th line (without Nylander/Marner) 23:08 - Marner's shooting luck turning around. 31:27 - Different D Pairings. 44:28 - Matthews on the PK. 51:29 - Trying Nylander at centre.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

@Totally_Offside from Hockey Twitter joins us this week to discuss some hot takes about the Leafs. Here's a list of the topics we debate: 2:01 - The Leafs' D core is #ActuallyGood (they don't need to trade for a Top 4 D) 19:05 - Marner & Nylander are actually having better seasons than last year. 33:17 - Connor Brown isn't that great. 40:54 - Hyman is going to score 20 goals this season. 54:08 - The Leafs should give Marner a bridge deal.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Wheeler from The Athletic joins us this week to analyze some of the Leafs' top prospects. Here's a list of the players we discuss: 1:16 - Timothy Liljegren. 6:29 - Travis Dermott. 11:14 - Dmytro Timashov. 13:17 - Mason Marchment. 16:22 - Andreas Johnsson. 18:50 - Jeremy Bracco & Adam Brooks. 22:46 - Yegor Korshkov. 30:52 - Nicolas Mattinen. 35:26 - Joseph Woll & Ian Scott.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2:24 - Kadri's penalty differential. 8:20 - Rielly's penalty differential. 14:16 - 23.8 PP% for Toronto. 19:06 - 0.5 of JVR/Bozak/Komarov re-signs. 29:19 - 12.5 Games for Polak. 35:52 - 0.5 Playoff Games for Dermott. 42:28 - 0.39 PPG for Liljegren in the AHL. 48:03 - 9.5 NHL Games for Liljegren in 2018-2019. 53:55 - 0.5 Trades (in-season) for a Top 4 D. 1:03:41 - 1.5 Tall D (6'5 or taller) selected by Toronto in the 2018 Draft. 1:05:58 - 0.5 Matt Martin trades before the end of his contract. 1:12:10 - 4.5 Years on Marner's contract extension. 1:17:55 - 1.5 Playoff rounds for Toronto this season. 1:19:22 - Closing thoughts (what we're watching on Netflix)Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theo joins us this week (for once) to go through some fun Over/Under bets that our listeners helped us come up with. Here's a list of the topics that we debated: 1:44 - 12.5 Games for Soshnikov. 7:23 - 38.5 Games for Leivo. 12:09 - 73% TOI at 4v5 for Hainsey. 17:12 - 39.5 Goals for Matthews. 20:48 - .914 Sv% for Andersen. 25:57 - 15.5 Goals for Hyman. 29:14 - 12.0 Sh% for Brown. 35:49 - 14:45 TOI/GP for JVR. 43:40 - 50 CF% for Zaitsev. 53:37 - 11.5 Fights for Martin.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gus Katsaros from McKeen's Hockey, Rotoworld, and Maple Leafs Hot Stove joins us this week to take a deep dive into the Leafs' power play. Here's a list of the topics we discuss: 1:54 - Explaining the 1-3-1 PP Formation. 7:35 - The Matthews/Nylander Unit. 19:53 - The Marner Unit. 31:06 - Using the 'Drop-Pass Play' for the Zone Entry. 43:02 - The Evolution of the Point Shot.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Watkins (@yolo_pinyato) joins us this week to analyze hockey using some of the concepts we've learned from basketball. Here's a list of the topics we discuss: 2:50 - Why the NBA's analytics are so much better than the NHL's. 12:18 - Finding Ways to Quantify Chemistry. 29:56 - "Pace & Space" in the NHL. 40:50 - "Spacing" on the Power Play. 1:02:08 - Impacts of Coaching in Each Sport.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Fail from Hockey Graphs joins us this week as we jump down the rabbit hole that is PK analysis. Here's a list of the topics we discuss: 2:20 - The state of PK analytics. 6:59 - Introducing "The PK Project". 12:44 - Neutral Zone/'Forecheck' Formations. 18:00 - D-Zone Formations. 32:06 - How our eyes can mislead us on the PK. 44:50 - Why hockey is a weighted coin flip. 52:03 - Final thoughts.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theo (Ian's long lost co-host) joins the show this week to debate whether or not Lou Lamoriello is a good General Manager. Here's a list of the topics we discuss: 0:58 - The Polak signing. 12:47 - Is Lou Lamoriello a good GM? 42:30 - Toronto's shift in organizational philosophy. 54:53 - Lou/Dubas' future in Toronto. 1:08:35 - Final thoughts.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices