Your biggest surprise and biggest disappointment this season?

[OppositeLocK]

Surprise:

We kept our core. Really expected them to make an Edmonton move that screws up the team by thinking they can make it better to compete now. As someone who suffered immensely from the JFJ days onwarda, I am really happy the team is staying the course and not seeking shortcuts.


Disappointment:

A lot of Babcock’s decision making. Having said that, I am overall pretty happy with Toronto.

I am more upset with the NHL in general. The reffing has been abysmal, even after a horribly reffed playoffs last season. Seems like each season it’s getting worse. Oh and hockey is becoming softer but what else is new I guess?

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[Man Bear Pig]

My biggest surprise would be Dermott. I'd seen enough with the Marlies to know he'd be a good player at some point but now he's an absolute staple. He's going nowhere. My disappointment is Marleau. I'm not sure if he's being misused but I had higher expectations. He still plays well defensively and will still put up goals but he does almost nothing to create chances. He looks like Hyman with better hands most of the time.

 

[PuckMagi]

My biggest surprise would be Dermott. I'd seen enough with the Marlies to know he'd be a good player at some point but now he's an absolute staple. He's going nowhere. My disappointment is Marleau. I'm not sure if he's being misused but I had higher expectations. He still plays well defensively and will still put up goals but he does almost nothing to create chances. He looks like Hyman with better hands most of the time.

 

[DDRhockey]

Nylander

 

[PuckMagi]

Biggest surprise:

Hainsey - was expecting a 3rd pairing guy, but he's been handling himself well on the top pair

While not necessarily a surprise, I think Andersen and Rielly took another step forward, and Kadri showed that his 30 goal season wasn't a fluke. I knew Dermott was going to be this good, so no surprise there for me.

Biggest disappointment is Babcock's refusal to move Hyman away from Matthews.

 

[Americanadian]

I work night shift so I am not able to watch the majority of the games but from my limited viewings and stat watching the biggest surprises for me would be Kadri getting 30 goals again and Andersen proving to be a true #1. The biggest disappointment would be Nylander not taking a step forward and Zaitsev seemingly taking a step backwards.

 

[Scott Malkinson]

Surprise: Travis Dermott

Disappointment: None

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Surprises:

1. Hainsey. I really didn’t expect him to be as good as he has been (I know he’s been struggling since returning from injury, but he’s getting better).

2. Dermott has been a fantastic addition to the blueline and plays with a maturity level that is above his age. Can’t wait to watch him continue to grow.

Disappointments:

1. Matthews injuries. I’m NOT saying he’s going to be injury prone, far from it. But it does suck seeing him in and out of the lineup so often this season.

2. Zaitsev has not been as good as he was last year. He’s been battling injuries (and now a disease) during the season to, so that can’t have helped. Hopefully he bounces back next year.

 

[Ovate]

Surprise: Dermott. I didn't expect him to make it onto the team at all until at least next year, and even then get sheltered bottom pairing minutes. He's overperforming and ahead of schedule.

Disappointment: Brown. He's either a good 4th liner or a bad 3rd liner. I had hopes that he could become a middle 6 six winger that could slot in anywhere in the lineup, but he's completely stagnated this year. Don't let the occasional solo efforts distract from the fact that he's mostly terrible at driving plays and posession.

Other surprises: Johnsson tearing up the AHL, Hainsey playing great and developing the young players/Rielly stepping up.

Other disappointments: Bozak and Zaitsev looking worse than last season. Gauthier making it clear he'll never be an NHLer. Carrick failing to take the next step.

 

[Willy Stylez]

Nylander

Could you elaborate?

 

[TorontoTrades]

I love that people still bag on Babcock's coaching decisions. The Leafs are 1 and 3/4 seasons removed from the 1st overall pick and are sitting 3rd in the east with the 1st and 3rd best teams in the League.

Yet people seem to think Babcock does a terrible job and mismanages. He knows what he's doing and the results are on the ice. Toronto is on pace for 104 points this season which would be a franchise record. Yes we have talent up front but our defense is still only slightly above average. Let's start giving Babcock some credit and appreciate what we have.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

Surprises : McBackup, Hainsey (for the first 50 games)
Disappointments: Zaitsev, Brown, Powerplay (moreso Matthews/Nylander and their unit)

 

[MattySnipes]

Surprise

1. Hainsey
2. Dermott

Disappointment

1. Brown/Zaits (sophomore slump/injury)
2. Bozak

Disappointments are not set in stone. We still got the playoffs to go, turn it around and I'd be glad to eat crow. Bozak is what he is, so not so much as disappointed in him - more so expected a better season.

 

[hoglund]

Okay there. 3 injuries this season, 2 of them being back related when he had a history of a ****ed up back before being drafted.

Gretzky and T Mac had back injuries which correlated with their decline.

He's only had 2 injuries, the first was November 8 he missed 4 games with a concussion and his second was Feb 22 with a shoulder injury that has lasted 7 games, which was the 3rd and when did it happen?

 

[PinkFly]

He's only had 2 injuries, the first was November 8 he missed 4 games with a concussion and his second was Feb 22 with a shoulder injury that has lasted 7 games, which was the 3rd and when did it happen?

December 10

https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/auston-matthews-player-injuries

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Surprise: Hainsey
Disappointment: zaitsev

 

[Nineteen67]

Surprise
Fred Andersen

Disappointment
Not much- AM hurt, I guess

About what I expected
Almost Everything - a team poised to compete to win a playoff series.

 

[Gallagbi]

Okay there. 3 injuries this season, 2 of them being back related when he had a history of a ****ed up back before being drafted.

Gretzky and T Mac had back injuries which correlated with their decline.

Guess we'll just have to settle for a Gretzky-esque career. Womp, womp.

Surprise - McBackup. Was never a fan and he still scares the hell out of me, but he's stopping pucks.

Disappointment - 2nd PP unit. Had some great producers last year and it just doesn't click now.

 

[Nizdizzle]

Surprise:
Dermott - 'nough said, the kid has been better than I ever hoped.

Marner - He has elevated his game to another level in 2018. When we're healthy, we have so many elite offensive options now.

Disappointment:
Zaitsev/Gardiner - Just wish they could both be "on" at the same time. It seems to me when Zaitsev is bad, Gardiner is good and vice versa. Both have had really long rough patches this year, though Gards has looked really good in 2018.

Nylander - Not that he has looked bad this season, but I really thought he was going to take the next step this year (rather than Marner). I think he struggles to be dominant without Matthews, and if we ever want that big shiny cup in the near future we'll need Nylander to really take off, IMO.

 

[ottomaddox]

Surprise: The Eye Test

Disappointment: Corsi Stats and Fantasy Hockey Experts

 

[Leafs1993]

Surprise: Travis Dermott. Knew the kid would be good, didnt see him having this kind of impact so soon.

Dissapointment: Matthews Health. I am not saying he is injury prone or anything, very weird flukey injuries.

 

[TheRexman]

Surprise: Dermott

Disappointment: Matthews injury and the number of games he's missed. Had a good start to the year too.

 

[Stand Witness]

Surprise: Dermott being as good as he is so fast.

Disappointment: Brown and its not really close. I was expecting him to slightly build off last season offensively and hit 40 points. I know he had a lot of time on the 4th line but still.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Surprise: Andersen, Dermott

Disappointment: Babcock's stubbornness

 

[Gary Nylund]

A big surprise for me is that our excellent season has us only in 3rd place in our division. Damn those Bruins.