Ron Wilson Receives Contract Extension

The Toronto Maple Leafs won their last two games heading into the NHL's Christmas break this weekend slotting them sixth in the Eastern conference. Regardless of whether you like job Ron Wilson has done coaching the team or you fall into the "Fire Wilson" camp, the results speak for themselves. Those results are mainly that the Leafs are in a playoff spot at the moment, something they have struggled to achieve over the last few years.

Over the weekend Ron Wilson hinted that he would like a contract extension for Christmas. Then this morning he mention via twitter that he in actual fact did receive the contract extension he was looking for. TSN's James Duthie would confirm this a few hours later. So, I for one am going to congratulate Mr. Wilson.




THE GOOD

• The Maple Leafs are 5 games above .500
• They managed to win games despite James Reimer's injury and struggling set of back-ups
• They have the third best powerplay in the entire league
• They score on average 3.07 goals per game, which is seventh best in the league
• They are one of the best teams in the league at maintaining a lead in a game and converting it to a win. (.917 winning percentage when leading after one period, 1.000 when leading after two)

THE BAD

• The Maple Leafs still have the worst penalty kill in the entire National Hockey League
• They allow on average 3.17 goals per game, which is seventh worst in the league
• Team defense has shown signs of struggling in more than a few occasions

When playing 5-on-5 the Leafs are one of the better teams in the NHL, so really most of their problems stem for the inability to be successful on the PK. The Leafs have been noticeably better killing penalties in their last couple of games and hopefully this trend continues.

At the end of the day, this isn't your average organization. This is the Toronto Maple Leafs. If things don't work out with Ron Wilson in the future they can replace him whenever they want. Whats a few extra dollars to MLSE?