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The Official Post-Bitch 2025-26 Regular Season Thread

Lot's of things to tweak and fix, but they better get their goaltending straightened out.

We've played 16 games, and have had 4 quality starts.

Stolarz 3.35 .889%
Hildeby 3.96 .910%
Primeau 4.30 .838%
 
Every game, Benoit has the puck on his stick too often. I mean, better than on the opponent's stick - but only marginally.
 
I seriously don't understand how this front office can think like it does but didn't outbid the Bruins for Zadorov. At least he's the best in the world at being a huge, angry #4 that actually wrecks people.
 
MindzEye said:
I seriously don't understand how this front office can think like it does but didn't outbid the Bruins for Zadorov. At least he's the best in the world at being a huge, angry #4 that actually wrecks people.
Click to expand...
Why do that when you can trade a 1 for a discounted Carlo?

Also didnt Tre have Zadz in Calgary?
 
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/five-thoughts-on-problems-maple-leafs-must-address-and-soon/

Auston Matthews still isn’t dominant, and the fear is it ain’t coming back
Matthews still has the brilliant mind of a goal scorer — he knows where to be and when, he’s slick and sneaky, and has the great hands to deceive goaltenders at every turn. He can pick a corner when left undefended, no doubt. You don’t lead the league in goals scored since the day you came in the league without those tools.
But I did say “slick and sneaky” rather than “dominant and inevitable” as he’s felt in years past. He no longer forces his will on defenders, and the conversation I have most often with people off-air seems to be, “What do you think is going on with Matthews?”
I don’t have an answer. Please note, though, that the debate is on “why,” and not “if,” because he’s undeniably just not the same powerful force he was en route to winning a Hart Trophy.
Some will say it’s Mitch Marner’s absence, but that’s not it. Here are his stats with and without Marner on the ice over his 10-year NHL career to date.
Scenario (5v5)TOI (seconds)Total goalsTotal assistsGoals/60Assists/60
With Marner258,101111911.5481.269
Without Marner336,305147981.5741.049
Matthews has been hugely productive in huge minutes without the guy in the past. So let’s shelve that, it ain’t the Marner thing.
With him being less overwhelming compared to his old self, I looked at the data according to NHL Edge.
Auston Matthews' hardest recorded shot, by year:
SeasonSpeed in m.p.h.
2021-2295.56
2022-2394.14
2023-2491.43
2024-2590.56
2025-2686.82
Granted, it’s early this season, but it’s not trending great.
How about Matthews' max skating speed, by league-wide percentile:
SeasonPercentile
2021-2252nd
2022-2365th
2023-2465th
2024-2562nd
2025-26below 50th
MASSIVE CAVEAT: The stats from this season mean very little, and the idea of a one-time max speed telling us a bigger picture story is dicey enough in the first place. These stats don’t prove anything. After all, you could do nothing all year, have one everything-goes-perfect moment and hit some great high, which would cover up the rest of the year. And this year they’ve played a fraction of the games for those moments to occur, so it’s silly to put too much stock into them.
But that shot-velocity thing does check out what you see with your eyes, as his shot used to be on top of goalies before they were set. Although the numbers don’t prove anything, they sure do feel congruent with his play, don’t they?
And this one down below def checks out with the eye test too. Here’s “Percentage of his ice time spent in the O-zone” by year, based on his percentile rank in the league (99th being tops):
SeasonPercentile
2021-2299th
2022-2396th
2023-2465th
2024-2562nd
2025-26below 50th
Again, it’s early in the season. But he’s below a point per game, and his numbers everywhere are in decline. He tallies fewer hits, fewer takeaways, and I don’t mean just this year. It’s been a slow drip for years.
So is it injury? Off-ice habits? Some early age-related decline? Coach- or team-based? Speculate how you want. But there’s no denying he’s taken a step back physically, and the team is going to have to figure out how to win with this version of Matthews unless there’s some miraculous turnabout in the near future.
 
Shot and speed being significantly worse than before fully track with the eye test, and lend further support to the theory that the reason for his diminished production is in fact lingering or chronic injury.

If that's the case, are they just going to play this half-Matty version of himself for the rest of his career, or will they get him the proper treatment and or recovery time? He had a full offseason to recover and hasn't, so is it just hopeless? And if it is an injury that will never get better, are they never going to disclose it until he retires? This is the Leafiest of all Leafy situations ever, to have the best goal scorer in history get cut down in his late 20s before he accomplishes anything of import.
 
Stolarz’s goals saved above expected per 60 last year: 0.779 (1st in the NHL)
Stolarz’s goals saved above expected per 60 this year: -0.326 (44th in the NHL)
 
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