Toronto Maple Leafs: The All-Decade Starting Lineup
With the decade nearly, almost unbelievably over, we must look at the most important players to suit up for the Toronto Maple Leafs over the last ten years.
The decade began with Brian Burke at the helm and optimism surrounding the recent acquisition of Phil Kessel. Unfortunately, the price the Toronto Maple Leafs to acquire their then-franchise player was too high – the cost ended up being two eventual Hall of Fame players in Dougie Hamilton and Tyler Seguin.
Burke would give way to Dave Nonis, who would eventually be fired when the Leafs gave the presidency of their team to Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan ushered in a full-scale rebuild that has already paid dividends and which will see the Leafs enter the new decade with one of the best rosters in the history of the team.
In this list, we take a look at the best and best players to wear the historic Maple Leaf crest since 2010, and assemble the greatest starting lineup of the past decade in Leafs history.
James van Riemsdyk
Acquired: via trade (June 23 2012)
- From PHI for RHD Luke Schenn
Stats w/ Toronto (2012-18)
- 413 Games Played
- 153 Goals
- 291 Points
- 54.4 CorsiFor%
- 101.1 PDO
They say that “you never know what you got ’til it’s gone,” and that has never been truer in the case of James van Riemsdyk.
During his six seasons in a Leafs uniform, ‘JVR’ was deadly, finishing his tenure with a 0.70 P/GP average. The New Jersey native brought his best during some of the darkest and brightest times in Leafs history, regardless of defensive inefficiencies.
Although Brian Burke deserves scorn and criticism for the overall terrible state he left the Leafs in, he gets full credit for acquiring van Riemsdyk. JVR’s explosive entrance into the NHL’s biggest market created a presence that would be felt for more than half a decade.
JVR is 38th in all-time Leafs points, and 27th in all-time Leafs goals.
Nazem Kadri
Acquired: via Draft pick
- 7th overall in 2009
Stats w/ Toronto (2009-2019)
- 561 Games Played
- 163 Goals
- 359 Points
- 55.4 CorsiFor%
- 101.4 PDO
Though his break into the NHL took longer than expected, and featured many ups and downs (through one of the worst tenures in team history) Kadri eventually justified his seventh overall selection.
The gritty centreman takes this spot over the (harshly) underrated Tyler Bozak due to a higher P/GP clip (0.64 to 0.61) and slightly better base level analytics (55.4 to 53.2 CF%, 13.1 to 7.8 C/60).
Kadri spent ten difficult seasons in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, going up-and-down in his early years under Ron Wilson, never being used properly under Randy Carlyle, and finally becoming a star under Mike Babcock.
Now in Colorado, the Kadri era in Toronto seemed to be over in the blink of an eye.
Throughout his unpredictable tenure in the Leafs organization, Kadri almost always performed, and we cannot forget that as a fan base.
Phil Kessel
Acquired: via trade (September 18 2009)
- From BOS for 2010 1st (Tyler Seguin), 2010 2nd (Jared Knight), 2011 1st (Dougie Hamilton)
Stats w/ Toronto (2009-2015)
- 446 Games Played
- 179 Goals
- 392 Points
- 54.8 CorsiFor%
- 100.3 PDO
Phil Kessel is one of the best players to be absolutely wasted in their prime. Dominant during each of his six seasons in a Leafs uniform, a period in which Kessel was aged 22-27, the Leafs sniffed the playoffs only once, which ended badly.
Phil Kessel finished 18th all-time in Maple Leafs goal scoring, and is one of the best players to ever wear the jersey. It’s too bad that the cost to acquire him was so high that competing while he was here was almost impossible.
The Leafs may not have been able to make the most of having Phil Kessel in their lineup, but the trade that saw him sent to Pittsburgh did result in the Leafs being so bad that they earned the first overall pick and were able to draft Auston Matthews.
Additionally, that traded garnered a pick that was used to help acquire Freddie Andersen, and Kasperi Kapanen was included as well.
Morgan Rielly
Acquired: via Draft pick
- 5th Overall 2012
Stats w/ Toronto (2012-present)
- 470 Games Played
- 51 Goals
- 242 Points
- 51.5 CorsiFor%
- 100.0 PDO
At the Left-Defenseman spot comes Morgan Rielly. The 24-year-old defender cracked my list for the top 5 defensemen in Leafs history, so it only makes sense that he cracks this all-decade team.
Rielly was selected 5thoverall and might just end up being the best player in his draft. He has become one of the NHL’s best defensemen and was robbed of at least a Norris Trophy nomination this past season.
The British Columbia native brings a high level of ability in every aspect of the game, scoring well (setting a career-high 78 points in 2018-19) and generating rather solid analytics.
Rielly’s stats, contributions to the team, and two-way prowess earn him this tight LHD spot. He’s a homegrown superstar who, despite being only 25, will already go down as one of the best defensemen in team history.
Cody Franson
Acquired: via trade (July 3rd 2011)
- From NSH, with Matthew Lombardi, for Brett Lebda, Robert Slaney and a 2013 4th round pick (Zach Pochiro)
Stats w/ Toronto (2011-2015)
- 236 Games Played
- 20 Goals
- 115 Points
- 50.4 CorsiFor%
- 101.0 PDO
If I’m being completely honest, Franson’s placement on this list was purely out of necessity, being the highest scoring RHD in the past decade for the Leafs. That being said, Franson is actually a good player.
Although not the be-all-end-all of player analysis, Dom Galamini’s Hero Charts are really good at getting a simple face-value look at a player. For example, Franson plays at the level of a 3rd pairing defenseman (49%), which is based on his ‘primary points per 60 minutes’ and ‘shots vs average per 60 minutes’ metrics (all measured on the Even-strength statistics)
So, Franson was an effective player, although not exactly a game-breaker. His production was good in Toronto, not great. His analytics were good, not great.
Even still, despite Franson’s ‘good’ status, his inclusion on this list speaks to the Leafs teams assembled over the last decade, although that is another discussion for another day.
James Reimer
Acquired: via Draft pick
- 4th Round, 99th overall in 2006
Stats w/ Toronto (2011-16)
- 207 Games Played
- 85 Wins
- .914 Save Percentage
- 2.83 Goals Against Average
- 11 Shutouts
- .925 Even Strength Save Percentage
Reimer was the first to come to mind when I began writing this list. The Manitoba native sits 15th all-time in career save percentage with Toronto, and 5th all-time (tied with Bruce Gamble) among goalies who have played 100+ games with the franchise (at a .914 SV%).
Reimer arrived as a shining light of hope during what looked to be another lost season for the Leafs in 2011-12, following the injury of Jonas Gustavsson and Jean-Sebastian Giguere.
Following a hot streak that season, Reimer emerged as the team’s starting goalie, and held that position through his trade in 2016.
Mitch Marner is Not Different. dark. Next
Throughout his 6 year stint in Toronto, Reimer was a good soldier and an even better goalie.