5 reasonable changes the Toronto Maple Leafs can make to right the ship
By Mary Clarke
3. Give up on the point shots
Maybe the strangest part of the Maple Leafs’ struggles this season has been their reliance on point shots taken in the offensive zone. Historically, point shots from close to the blue line have been graded as low-danger chances in hockey, meaning that it’s often not effective to be taking shots from the perimeter of the offensive zone.
The Maple Leafs, however, have been taking more point shots than they usually do this season, a very abnormal phenomenon this early in the year.
For what it’s worth, former Philadelphia Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol is now an assistant coach for Babcock behind the bench, and was a major proponent of the shoot from the point mentality Toronto now has.
In any case, the Maple Leafs reverting to a hockey team that takes point shots — chances that usually never see the net thanks to the long distance they have to travel — instead of relying on their stellar talent to make plays is mystifying. Toronto is too talented to keep to the perimeter of the offensive zone for a scheme that has so far not worked out the way they had hoped it would.