Now, obviously, if you look at the standings that isn’t true. The truth is that the Toronto Maple Leafs are 20th in the overall standings.
But the standings are big fat liars.
The two best rosters in the NHL are Tampa Bay and Toronto. That those teams have been unlucky and had bad starts to the season doesn’t change anything.
Fans and analysts have an extremely difficult time analyzing the game beyond the results and that’s understandable – it’s human nature. But results are random, and 32 games into a season results are a less reliable predictor of future performance than roster strength.