Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Most Likely To Have A Breakout Season
The Toronto Maple Leafs start their quest for the Stanley Cup on Wednesday.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are ready to start the season. With Johnsson, Kapanen, Marner, and Matthews still signed with the organization, the Toronto Maple Leafs are ready to take the season by storm offensively.
Despite split opinions about the Marner contract last week, there’s no denying that it’s good the Leafs locked up one of their best players.
Dubas rid the organization of anchors like Ron Hainsey and Patrick Marleau. Making way, of course, for the supporting cast in Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson to sign new deals.
Dubas didn’t stop there. He abandoned waiting for the trade deadline to get a rental, he went ahead and shopped for that rental in the Kadri deal; Tyson Barrie, who, at $2.5 million (thanks to retained salary by the Avs) represents one of the best rentals possible.
Between all proven, presumed and upcoming talent there’s bound to be a player who will have a breakout season this year. That’s why the writing staff met this week to discuss this weeks roundtable question; “Which player is most likely to have a breakout season with the Toronto Maple Leafs?”
My Take
Honestly, I think there’s only one player bound to have a breakout season: William Nylander.
Morgan Rielly had his breakout season last year, and showed glimpses of his potential before that, similar to what Nylander has done. Everyone knew there was still untapped potential, it was a matter of time when it came to light, I believe the same to be with Nylander.
Gifted with élite hockey sense, silky smooth hands, skating skills, puck handling skills at high-speed, passing skills, and a deadly shot, Nylander is a very complete offensive player capable of leading the team’s offense.
Put together with Auston Matthews and Andreas Johnsson, the Toronto Maple Leafs will bolster the league’s new top-line next season. It’s not a top-secret that the chemistry between Matthews and Nylander is hard to defend against and it’s a near certainty for a lot of 5v5 goals.
Nylander ability to carry the puck into the offensive zone makes him one of the two most pivotal players with Mitch Marner for the powerplay. In case Nylander plays on the top unit or if Babcock splits the best players over the two units, expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to belong among the top teams in powerplay success this season.
You can bet on it; Nylander will silence his critics this season by tallying personal records on goals and assists and will prove to be a point per game player.
Michael Mazzei
When it comes to potential breakout candidates on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster for this coming season, Cody Ceci stands out among all of them as the most likely player.
Upon arrival back in July, a large portion of Leafs fans were upset by the idea of having Ceci in a Leafs uniform at $4.5 million of the season. While his previous track record made the concerns understandable, he was also entering a new system and playing on a competitive team with Stanley Cup aspirations.
It would be safe to assume that he has a prime opportunity to turn around his career and accelerate his development to reach his full potential.
Being slated alongside Morgan Rielly has done just that. While he has yet to produce offensively in 3 pre-season games, Ceci has demonstrated his puck-moving abilities and using his body to both close the gap and make plays at both ends of the ice. He’s the kind of player that Rielly needs to be at his best and there’s potential that the pairing can bring out the best in each other.
This isn’t to suggest that this will continue to be the case once the regular season begins, but the early returns have been promising nonetheless. Should Ceci continue his strong showing alongside Rielly deep into the regular season, it will more than justify Kyle Dubas in not only acquiring him but also signing Ceci to a $4.5 million contract.
Ceci is the Leafs breakout candidate for the 2019-20 season, and it will be fascinating to watch how he performs wearing the Blue and White.
Peri Gallacher
A young versatile defenseman? Say no more, Rasmus Sandin is undoubtedly on his way to a breakout season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 2018 NHL entry draft saw the Leafs pick up the now 19-year-old defenseman Sandin in the first round, 29th overall.
He proceeded on to play 46 games with AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies and helped carry them into the Eastern Conference finals with 10 assists in 13 games; an accomplishment nearly unheard of for such a young player in his first year of AHL level hockey- it’s obvious he has the skill and know-how to be able to play up top.
The 5’11 player has taken several large jumps in the past three years, originating in the Swedish under 20 league, to the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL, then to the AHL and finally, his nearly guaranteed position in the Leaf’s roster; he’s proven to be easy to adapt to different levels of play, not once faltering and seeming calm cool and collected even in facing long time NHL’ers in the preseason.
Sandin didn’t seem to miss a beat in any appearances and strengthened the line up immeasurably. The songs of praise from teammates, and even Babcock have been unparalleled following his performances on the ice. Fellow Swedish teammate, William Nylander seems to have taken him under his wing in the offseason after being in the same skate group and has continuously spoken highly of the league rookie.
It’s pretty obvious at this point, mere days from the season opener, that Sandin will be seen in the line-up in place of Travis Dermott for at least the first month and if things go well, potentially thereafter, giving him lots of time up top to learn his role with the team. It’s also to be said that the likelihood of either Barrie or Muzzin returning next season are unlikely so developing Sandin in the league and giving him NHL experience will only better their top 4 defensive lineups in the 2020-2021 season.
Nick Barden
Easy answer: Auston Matthews.
It’s easy to say that Matthews has been a star three years into his NHL career, but has he done much? Do 205 points in 212 games cut it? Yes, of course, it does, but the only time he’s ever had a full season in the NHL was in his rookie year.
82 games, yet the last two seasons have seen him have close to 70. That’s not enough. If Matthews plays a full season this year, it could be historic for the Toronto Maple Leafs. We could see him reach the 50-goal mark for the first time in his career and the first time since the 1993-94 season when Dave Andreychuk did it.
Heck, he can even break the goal record if he really wanted to. He’s an élite five-on-five goal scorer, who can score on the power-play too. If he can stay healthy, there’s so much he can do in a full season. He’s also playing with William Nylander for a full year, so we’ll get to see him get the puck to Matthews a lot more often, to help with scoring chances.
I think this is the season where Matthews takes the next step in his career. Whether that be goals, points or staying healthy for a full season, I think this is the year of Matthews, so be ready.
Alex Hobson
My candidate for a breakout season is none other than Ilya Mikheyev.
The Leafs’ top six this season is more or less set in stone. The top line will feature Auston Matthews in the middle with Andreas Johnsson and William Nylander on either wing, while the second line will have John Tavares centering Mitch Marner and Kasperi Kapanen.
Mikheyev was brought in by the Leafs on a one-year entry-level contract after a successful KHL season where he put up 45 points in 62 games. He has a great combination of offensive skill/goal scoring ability, as well as good size at 6’3 and 195lbs. He will more than likely fill the role left by Patrick Marleau.
While the third line isn’t confirmed, there’s been a reason to believe that it will be composed of Mikheyev, Alex Kerfoot, and Trevor Moore. If this is the case, then Mikheyev could be in line to record a 40-50 point season. Kerfoot put up 42 points last season and Moore impressed in his small sample size last season with eight points in 25 games.
The biggest thing I’ve noticed from watching preseason games this year is that whether it be games featuring AHLers or NHLers, the Leafs have no quit. There doesn’t appear to be a single weak link on the team. Hell, even players considered to be weak (Martin Marincin, Cody Ceci, etc) have looked good so far.
The fact that Mikheyev will have the opportunity to play alongside skilled players in Moore & Kerfoot and may also see some time on the power play could do absolute wonders for him, and I think he’s poised to have a great season.
James Tanner
The Toronto Maple Leafs breakout player of the 2019 season will be Rasmus Sandin.
With Jack and Quinn Hughes leading the charge for the Calder Trophy this season, I don’t see Sandin as having much chance to win the rookie of the year award, but I do see him establishing himself as an NHL regular and making Cody Ceci expendable.
Sandin’s training camp ascension to the NHL couldn’t have been timed any better because the Leafs are so capped out that they’re options for team improvement are nearly non-existent.
That was until Sandin pushed Cody Ceci down to #6 on the depth chart (#7 even, as Martin Marincin is probably better).
Sandin is intelligent, he can move the puck, and he can play both sides. It’s not impossible that we’ll see him force his way into the top-four eventually. And even if he doesn’t do that this year, it’s likely that he’ll play 82 games and be one of the NHL’s best 3rd pairing defensemen.
Next. Top 10 Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects. dark
Sandin is going to make people forget that both Muzzin and Barrie are probably done in Toronto and by the end of this season, I predict he’ll have established himself as a core player for the Toronto Maple Leafs.