The Toronto Maple Leafs have completed their preseason schedule, and the roster appears to be set. Max Domi is riding shotgun with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. Easton Cowan has done everything asked of him to make the roster. And at the same time, the organization is looking for a new home for their overpriced depth players.
There is now a concern that they are repeating a mistake made by the Edmonton Oilers last year. A few NHL analysts believe the team has gotten slower, and that’s a big problem in their eyes.
Analysts Claim Maple Leafs Look Slower
The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the same path that the 2024-25 Edmonton Oilers were on with their roster construction.
Sportsnet analysts Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne, and Sam McKee discussed several topics stemming from the Maple Leafs’ road loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Chief among those concerns was the team’s speed.
They started their conversation on the Real Kyper & Bourne show by talking about the Maple Leafs’ poor night.
“Don’t want to put too much stock into results this time of year,” Kypreos said on the October 3 episode. “But, it wasn’t very pretty for the Toronto Maple Leafs last night.”
“They stunk,” Justin Bourne responded. “I left that game with real fear for the year, like – are they slow?”
While fans should take the preseason with a grain of salt, Bourne and Kypreos explained their concern over the team’s speed.
“They had their team, that was everyone. That’s their best-case scenario lineup,” Bourne explained. “The most concerning part…you bring in Roy, who’s a great player, I really like him, but he’s not fast. You bring in Joshua, who’s not fast. Bring in Maccelli, who’s not overly fast.”
“And I just look at the lineup, and I went…they were really slow last night.”
This resulted in the team spending a significant amount of time in the defensive zone, which put considerable pressure on their goaltender, Anthony Stolarz.
“Stolarz was by far and away their best player,” Kypreos reasoned. “But, do you want to put that type of night on him, less than a week to go from your opener? That he’s gotta see 45-50 shots on goal?”
The Oilers Started Last Year With a Slower Team
GettyCorey Perry
The Oilers began the 2024-25 season with a slower team than the previous year. Finn Marceau wrote a piece for The Hockey News in September of 2024, expressing the same concern for the Oilers that Bourne and Kypreos are for the Maple Leafs.
“McDavid wasn’t the team’s only burner last year. Both Leon Draisaitl and Ryan McLeod ranked among the fastest players in the league, while Warren Foegele ranked in the top 20 percent,” Marceau wrote about the Oilers from the previous season. “Apart from McLeod and Foegele, Dylan Holloway added even more speed to the lineup.”
However, the Oilers traded McLeod, allowed Foegele to walk away in free agency, and didn’t match the Holloway offer sheet.
At the conclusion of the playoffs, Oilers GM Stan Bowman explained that the team was going to make changes, “We’re going to have some changes. We’re not going to bring the same group back.”
Are the Maple Leafs Actually Slower?
GettyMatias Maccelli
The best way to assess the Maple Leafs’ speed is to look at NHL Edge data. Examining the players who joined the roster after Mitch Marner’s departure lends support to Bourne and Kypreos’ claim.
NHL Edge data calculates speed bursts into three different categories: 18-20 MPH, 20-22 MPH, and 22+ MPH. During the 2024-25 season, Marner had 408 18-20 MPH bursts, 83 20-22 MPH bursts, and three 22+ MPH bursts. His top speed was clocked at 23.56 MPH.
Dakota Joshua, Nic Roy, Matias Maccelli, and Michael Pezzetta all joined the Maple Leafs this summer. Here is a table showing their speed burst data:
| Name | 18-20 MPH | 20-22 MPH | 22+ MPH | Max Speed |
| Dakota Joshua | 265 | 22 | 0 | 21.02 |
| Nic Roy | 325 | 28 | 0 | 21.28 |
| Matias Maccelli | 302 | 46 | 2 | 22.37 |
| Michael Pezzetta | 109 | 36 | 0 | 21.78 |
It’s also important to look at games played. None of these players played all 82 games. Maccelli played 55, Pezzetta played 25, Joshua played 57, and Roy played 71.
From looking at the data, it’s clear that Maccelli is the fastest player that was brought in. He is the only player to have a max speed over 22 MPH. Additionally, he nearly had the same number of 18-20 MPH bursts as Roy, who played 16 more games than he did.
NHL Edge also gives an average of forwards versus defensemen. Forwards average 325.6 18-20 MPH bursts, 72.8 20-22 MPH bursts, and 3.7 22+ MPH bursts. The average max speed is 22.18 MPH.
It should concern Maple Leafs fans that they have added three players who have below-average league speed. If all four of these players play 82 games this season, only Maccelli has a chance to be above league average in all of these categories.
But now, it’s time to see what this Maple Leafs team looks like against the best NHL rosters in the league. Let the games begin.
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