How Can The Leafs Win the Presidents Trophy (Or, How Much Will They Win It By)?

Let’s take this lull in the Leafs’ schedule to do some fully accurate prognosticating of the rest of the season. Despite a bit of a dud on their recent four-game road trip, one that saw them go 0-2-2, the Blue and White are fully secure in their quest for the playoffs and can spend their last 14 games tinkering and getting set for either Tampa or Boston – end of story, end of article, no angst required whatsoever (but let’s check back if the next few games don’t go well either). But what is left for the fans that dare to dream, those insatiable scoreboard-watchers who have watched every recent Golden Knights and Predators game and cursed every loser point across the league from November onwards? What about those who want the team to aim just a little bit higher heading into the postseason?

This is but one example of how the Leafs can still win the 2017-18 Presidents Trophy (which would be their first in 55 years).

As of Wednesday morning, the invaluable sportsclubstats.com still gives the Leafs a 1.1% chance of having the best record in the NHL if they finish the season on a 14-game winning streak and accumulate 113 points (which would break their franchise record of 103). This is far from a complete list of the possibilities, as there are really tons (tons!) of foreseeable ways for the Leafs to accomplish this – the example below is in fact the “scorched earth” set of results, whereby every true Stanley Cup contender except for Toronto suffers a cataclysmic breakdown at season’s end. But the Leafs could still pull it off in many other ways even without a totally unblemished record, even though that might be considering backing into the playoffs. So, here is one rooting guide for Leafs fans to hang in their offices and dorm rooms, and eventually get nicely framed after the regular season ends on April 7^th.

Because we’re dealing with the happiest timeline, which is one in which the NHL never enacted its most flawed rule, we’re going to mistakenly assume no overtime or shootout loss points in any of the games in the table below. Also, only games featuring exactly one team that could tie or beat 113 points are included. For the rest, just do what feels right (which when Ottawa plays Buffalo on Thursday night, for example, is to just sit back and smile).

 

Easy. With these results, the Leafs would very comfortably win the Presidents Trophy. Congratulations to the Flyers, Blackhawks, and Sharks for their impressive 5-0 records in the above meaningful games during this stretch. And hey, while this article was being meticulously researched and written, the Blue Jackets beat the Golden Knights handily and – oh. Tampa and Boston both got pushed to overtime but won. Well, that’s going to have to stop. Any time now, please.