One of the great things about covering the Toronto Maple Leafs is that every year, there’s a big debate surging in what is always a large, passionate fan base.

The subject feeding this year’s civil war feels decided already, one-third of the way into the season.

The two things universally agreed upon so far are that (a) the Leafs are getting outstanding goaltending from Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll and (b) they’re playing well defensively, thanks to a new coach, a new shutdown defenceman (Chris Tanev) and an improved penalty kill.

Those two positives have combined to allow the Leafs to jump from 21st in goals against last season all the way up to fifth, improving their GAA by 0.55.

All good things. No war. No fighting. Kumbaya.

But…

Archive