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.