from Damien Cox at the Toronto Star,

Perhaps it’s the right time, as we head into winter with the possibilities and the angst of the playoffs still four months away, to give the Maple Leafs their due for what they have become.

Take a day off from dwelling on what they aren’t.

What they are is very good hockey club that entertains this city and its many fans across the country mightily from October to April with entertaining hockey players and a lot of watchable hockey games. The Leafs are offering up the most hockey talent this organization has presented to Toronto since the days of Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald and the late Börje Salming, and that was more than 40 years ago.

Since Auston Matthews arrived in the 2016 draft, the team has played 483 regular-season games. It has won 278 of them, and acquired another point in 59 other games by virtue of losing in overtime or a shootout. The Leafs have lost 146 games in regulation during that time.

So, over the past six-and-one-third seasons, almost 70 cent per cent of the time this team has either made its fans happy with two points, or were competitive enough to be tied at the end of regulation.

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