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Toronto Maple Leafs 2018-19 Player Grades

By James Tanner

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 07: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs reacts to the crowd after the Leafs scored against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on October 7, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 07: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs reacts to the crowd after the Leafs scored against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on October 7, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 27:Kasperi Kapanen #24 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his goal with teammate Nikita Zaitsev #22 during the third period against the Winnipeg Jets at the Scotiabank Arena on October 27, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Nikita Zaitsev by Josh Tessler

Zaitsev’s performance over the course of last season was shaky.

When Zaitsev wasn’t in control of the puck, he didn’t appear to be that bad. His positioning at times was decent. But, as soon as he would take control of the puck, he would make plenty of mistakes.

He just appeared to be rather timid when it came to puck possession. Almost every time that Zaitsev touched the puck, he just appeared to look skittish. Instead of looking for the optimal pass or trying to drive up the ice, he decided to dump the puck.

In addition, his WAR per minute (Sean Tierney) was the second worst on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Whenever Zaitsev was on the ice, the Toronto Maple Leafs were in jeopardy of coughing up a goal.

C. . D. Toronto Maple Leafs. NIKITA ZAITSEV

With the promise of his strong rookie season now far behind him, Zaitsev has a terrible contract that the Leafs would love to move.

With how ineffective Zaitsev was, you can’t possibly give him a good grade. Our grade for him is a C-.

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