The Toronto Maple Leafs only have a handful of games remaining in the 2022-23 season. Now that they have clinched both a postseason berth and home-ice advantage against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2023 NHL Playoffs, the attention turns to the lineups and matchups against the Lightning.
It’s interesting to look at unlikely heroes on the Maple Leafs who could step up in the playoffs. So, let’s look at three players that could help the team finally get past the first round in this year’s postseason.
Noel Acciari
Noel Acciari has brought an element to the team that Leafs Nation hasn’t seen since before the Auston Matthews era started in 2016. He has a play style built for the playoffs when the games become tight-checking and each shift is a grind. He tends to forecheck hard and finish his checks, showing that he can go to the net and rough things up. He also has the defensive expertise that the Maple Leafs need to get past the Lightning. In the defensive zone, he never stops moving. He can play high in the zone, get into shot lanes, or stay lower into the slot and clear the goalie’s line of sight.
It was anticipated that he would give the team consistency when the Maple Leafs acquired him in a trade with the St. Louis Blues alongside Ryan O’Reilly. Since the moment he put on the uniform, head coach Sheldon Keefe has trusted him implicitly in all circumstances. He could find a home on the third line with O’Reilly and Alex Kerfoot as a shutdown line against the Lightning’s top line.
So far during his time with the Leafs, he has three goals, three points, 66 hits and 18 blocks as well as a fight through 19 games. The Maple Leafs and Lightning series, like the one from the previous season, was anticipated to be quite rough. If Acciari can work on the shutdown line and throw his body around, it will allow the Maple Leafs’ top players to focus on the offensive side of the game. Having a strong defensive bottom six that puts their bodies on the line every shift to relieve the pressure on the great players may be the difference-maker in the game.
David Kampf
David Kampf has been an amazing addition to the Maple Leafs’ lineup since the club signed him in 2021. He has a history of being a dependable defensive forward who can win most faceoffs in his zone. He does have an offensive side to his game — he has 26 points this season, which is one away from a career-high. However, he is best used as a depth center who has defensive responsibilities. He has recently gained a lot of chemistry on the fourth line with Zach Aston-Reese and Sam Lafferty. This line is used by coach Keefe to help maintain offensive pressure through the cycle, but also wear down the opponent. They make quick work of getting the puck out and then use the dump-and-chase strategy to enter the zone, making the three of them the most dependable line to be used in their end when there is a faceoff.
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Last year in the playoffs, Kampf showed that he has a clutch side to his game. In the seven games the team played, he had a goal and an assist for two points, as well as 14 hits and a 53.7 percent faceoff winning percentage. The main statistic that stands out is his defensive zone starts in all situations (dZS%). He has an extremely high percentage of zone starts in his end with 92.2 percent. His offensive zone starts in all situations (oZS%) was 7.8 percent, which allows the Core Four to get more offensive zone time.
Jake McCabe
Jake McCabe has been the near-perfect replacement for the injured Jake Muzzin. He brings a lot of the same elements to the Maple Leafs’ blue line. He enjoys hitting the opponent coming into his zone and getting into scrums in front of his goalie. Much like Muzzin, he also brings an offensive component to the defence core, he has 24 points in 72 games this season and 123 points through 500 NHL career games. He is currently tied with his career-high in points with 24, one away from setting a new career-high. He and T.J. Brodie have found great chemistry together and have quickly established themselves as the shutdown pairing.
When McCabe was acquired by the Leafs alongside Lafferty, it was heavily praised as a very smart trade for general manager (GM) Kyle Dubas to make. The club got McCabe at 50 percent salary retention for this season and two more, which makes his presence in this year’s playoffs even more important. He will be appearing in his first-ever playoff series and will be relied on to play hard against the Lightning’s top players. Unfortunately, for McCabe, this year’s postseason comes with a lot of pressure, but if he and Brodie can play as consistently as they have so far, he could be one of the most important parts of helping the Maple Leafs finally hoist Lord Stanley’s mug.
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The Maple Leafs are in “win-now” mode, and with the additions that they made ahead of the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline, they have proven that their goal isn’t just making it out of the first round. Acciari, Kampf and McCabe all bring something to the team that can help them find success. They may not be the biggest names on the roster, but they are the players who do all the small things right in a game, which can definitely increase the Maple Leafs’ chances of winning the Cup this year.