On Valentine’s Day of last year, the Calgary Flames swung a deal with the Montreal Canadiens to acquire a 29-year-old Stanley Cup champion and six-time 20-plus goal-scorer. The winger had just put up 28 goals in a COVID-shortened season and helped take the underdog Canadiens all the way to the Stanley Cup Final where they fell short in the bubble to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In exchange, the Flames shipped off a 2022 first-round draft pick, a 2024 fifth-round draft pick, prospect Emil Heineman and depth forward Tyler Pitlick. The newly-acquired Flame was Scarborough, Ontario’s own Tyler Toffoli, and he currently leads the team in both points and goals scored.
Toffoli’s Impressive 2022-23 Stats
“Toffs” has vastly outperformed any expectations placed on him at the outset of this season. The Canadian will turn 31 this April but has seemingly just hit his stride as his offensive totals are mostly all career highs. As of this writing, Toffoli has totaled 33 goals, 36 assists, and a plus-16 rating through 76 games. While the last figure is not his best (plus-35 in the 2015-16 season), it is very impressive and ranks second on the Flames behind only Mikael Backlund. His high level of discipline is likely an asset the Flames were looking at when they traded for him; he has never recorded more than 37 penalty minutes in a season (2014-15) and has just 26 so far in 2022-23, which is the fourth-lowest among Flames regulars.
What’s even more impressive is that over half (45 total) of Toffoli’s points have been scored at even strength. The remaining 24 have come on the power play, a number that leads the Flames, and his ten power play goals are tied for the team lead as well. He is also shooting the puck more this season with an average of just over three shots on goal per game and is thus on pace to smash his career-high of 251 set back in 2017-18. Furthermore, 13.6 percent of the time, his shots go into the net which is tops on the team apart from newcomers Nick Ritchie and Walker Duehr. For these reasons, head coach Darryl Sutter has started over 65 percent of Toffoli’s shifts in the offensive zone. Puck possession-wise, he has registered a 58.6 percent Corsi For rating which means whenever he is on the ice the Flames control the puck and generate more shot attempts over half of the time.
Toffoli Scoring When it Matters
It almost feels like yesterday when Flames fans and critics (myself included) were clamoring for management to make a trade for a scoring winger. It’s almost as if we didn’t realize that at the time of the trade deadline, Toffoli had 25 goals (including two game-winners) and 28 assists through 63 games. However, since then he has cranked up his efforts and essentially negated the need for said winger. In the 14 games since March 3, 2023, he has scored eight goals and eight assists including two more game-winning goals. He is shooting even more effectively, with 3.5 shots per game and an increased 16.3 percent success rate.
Related: Calgary Flames’ Top Trade Targets – 2022-23
The games Toffoli has been dominating have all been critical as the Flames have been hovering around the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. The Winnipeg Jets currently occupy that spot but the Flames now find themselves within two points of them.
None of Toffoli’s outings were more impactful than his masterful two-goal performance on March 31 against the Vancouver Canucks. One of his goals just so happened to be the overtime winner and was the clincher for the Flames’ first comeback win of the season.
Prior to that, the Flames had gone 0-18-3 in games where they were down entering the third period. The win was also just their seventh in extra time (overtime or shootout), where they have unfortunately also accumulated 15 losses. This happened to come on a night when the Jets also gained two points by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 6-2, making it all the more important. Both teams have six games left in the season and play each other on Wednesday, April 5.
Toffoli has been a revelation for the Flames and will most likely continue to be. He is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon and has full support from coach Sutter. He is well-respected in the Flames’ locker room and around the league as a person and is now dismantling any differing opinions on him as a player.
