Toronto Maple Leafs Player Grades at the All-Star Break

After a roller coaster ride of a season so far, the Toronto Maple Leafs have reached the all-star break and report cards are out.

The Toronto Maple Leafs head into the all-star break with a 25-17-7 record and sit 10th place in the Eastern conference.

There have been many exceptional performers for the Leafs and an equal amount of disappointing ones. The 2019-20 Maple Leafs have experienced a coaching change, historic scoring rates, injury woes, and more than their fair share of goaltending issues.

While the Leafs have made improvements throughout the season, they will need to execute and gain ground after the all-star break in an effort to make the playoffs.

The following mid-season grades for every Toronto Maple Leaf player attempts to factor in each player’s performance relative to their expectations as well as their overall ability.

For example, the grading for a fourth line player might range from B to F depending on their season performance, whereas grading for a star player might range from A+ to C.

Here’s a look at how every Leaf has fared so far, beginning with the team’s centres.

Centres:

Auston Matthews: A+ (49 GP – 34 G, 23 A, 57 PTS)

Matthews has been the Leafs MVP this season. He is on track for career highs in points (96), goals (57), assists (39), ice time (20:20/GP) and shots (326). Matthews’ current pace for 57 goals would be more than any player in the 103 year history of the franchise.

John Tavares: A (42 GP – 18 G, 23 A, 41 PTS)

Tavares has handled the captaincy as a consummate professional throughout this season. He is a model of consistency as a point per game player, but has been exposed on some defensive miscues this season, which he needs to clean up.

Jason Spezza: B (37 GP – 6 G, 12 A, 18 PTS)

Spezza’s ceiling is not as high as it once was, but he’s shown a surprising amount of speed and energy for a player who was thought to be on the decline over the past couple seasons.

Alex Kerfoot: B- (44 GP – 8 G, 11 A, 19 PTS)

Kerfoot hasn’t been bad, but he hasn’t lived up to expectations either. Fans expecting a 45+ point player with two-way ability and great skating could be disappointed with Kerfoot’s modest production.

Frederik Gauthier: C (44 GP – 6 G, 4 A, 10 PTS)

Gauthier hasn’t evolved into the mean 6’5″ presence in the centre of the ice that would set him apart from other NHL tweeners, but he is  a serviceable fourth liner.

Top-6 Wingers:

Mitch Marner: A+ (38 GP – 13 G, 34 A, 47 PTS)

For Marner, a repeat of last season’s 94 points would have sufficed as a strong year. Despite missing eleven games due to injury, Marner is scoring at a 100+ point pace per 82 games. His ceiling playing on a line with Auston Matthews is astronomical.

William Nylander: A (49 GP – 22 G, 21 A, 43 PTS)

Nylander is scoring in bunches lately and on pace for career highs in goals and points. His 15.7% shooting is well above his career average, which is likely a reflection of his greatly improved nose for high-scoring areas at the net.

Zach Hyman: A- (30 GP – 12 G, 9 A, 21 PTS)

Hyman spent much of the first part of this season hurt, but missed no time getting up to speed. He is chipping in more offensively while providing his trademark grit and hustle. His play this season has proven that he deserves his role as a top-6 forward.

Ilya Mikheyev: A- (39 GP – 8 G, 15 A, 23 PTS)

Mikheyev’s speed, size and skill were a revelation for the Leafs before he suffered a serious wrist laceration requiring surgery. Unfortunately, Mikheyev will likely not see the ice again this season.

Bottom-6 Wingers:

Kasperi Kapanen: B (49 GP – 10 G, 18 A, 28 PTS)

At this point, you know what you get with Kapanen. He’s a strong third line player that’s not particularly well-suited to grow into a top-6 role, but brings effective penalty killing and drives possession with blazing speed.

Pierre Engvall: B (27 GP – 7 G, 7 A, 14 PTS)

Engvall has been a surprisingly effective player since being called up from the Toronto Marlies. His length, composure and speed have translated very well to the NHL and seem to have solidified his NHL role in a very short period of time.

Andreas johnsson: C+ (34 GP, 6 G, 10 A, 16 PTS)

Johnsson’s season has been somewhat rocky, having been bit by the injury bug and off to a slow start. He has offensive ability, but needs to produce at a higher rate to earn a regular spot in the top-6.

Dmytro Timashov: C (33 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 9 PTS)

Timashov is a replacement-level player, which is about what was expected from him. At only 23 years old, Timashov has shown flashes of grit, speed and scoring and still has room for development.

Trevor Moore: D+ (22 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 5 PTS)

Moore hasn’t shown much in the games he’s played in this year. An undersized winger on track for less than 20 points is below replacement-level in today’s NHL.

Defense:

Justin Holl: A- (47 GP, 1 G, 12 A, 13 PTS)

From professional healthy scratch to arguably the team’s best defenseman this year, Holl is the feel-good story of the season for the Leafs. Holl’s speed, vision and defensive stability have resulted in his ice time climbing to over 20 minutes/game recently.

Morgan Rielly: B (46 GP, 3 G, 24 A, 27 PTS)

Rielly’s ‘B’ rating is the equivalent of a free pass. Rielly has clearly been hurt since the start of the season, but continued to soldier on at a 50-point pace for his team. Leafs fans should appreciate the effort and leadership even though McDavid put him on a poster.

Travis Dermott: B- (36 GP, 4 G, 4 A, 8 PTS)

Dermott hasn’t quite been able to take the next step this season. With beautiful skating,  he is already a tremendous escape artist on defense, but there is room for growth in his patience and plan with the puck moving up ice.

Jake Muzzin: B- (38 GP, 3 G, 10 A, 13 PTS)

Muzzin brings a physical element that the Leafs lack without him, but he hasn’t produced well this season. Many have suspected that Muzzin was nursing an ailment even before taking a shot that broke his foot at the end of December.

Tyson Barrie: C (49 GP, 4 G, 23 A, 27 PTS)

Barrie oozes offensive talent, but is on track for his lowest point total since 2016-17. His defensive play has been simply dreadful. His pinches are consistently reckless and his defensive zone coverage consists of little more than occupying space.

Cody Ceci: C- (49 GP, 1 G, 6 A, 7 PTS)

It is difficult to see past Ceci’s shortcomings. Defensively, his decision-making has been poor this season much like Barrie. However, Ceci hasn’t demonstrated the ability to move the puck or contribute offensively to make up for those issues.

Martin Marincin: C- (17 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS)

At his best, Marincin can serve as a quality depth defenseman, but he hasn’t been his best this season. He is susceptible to speed on the rush and loses his assignments in defensive coverage as well. Marincin has yet to register a point in 17 games.

Coaching

Sheldon Keefe: A+ (16-7-3)

Since joining the Leafs as head coach two months ago, Sheldon Keefe has been instrumental in the team’s turnaround this season and his possession-focused style of play has squeezed the most out of his player personnel.

The Leafs have had the best power-play (32.8%) in the NHL since Keefe’s arrival and their penalty-kill improved from 27th under Mike Babcock to 14th under Keefe.

The Leafs have also scored more goals than any NHL team since the coaching change, which is a direct result of Keefe putting his confidence in his best players.

Mike Babcock: D (9-10-4)

With the right personnel, Babcock is a prolific motivator and coach. However, his message didn’t get through to the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.

Babcock forced the team to play his style of game, rather than assessing what the team’s personnel did best. Furthermore, his motivational tactics, don’t sit well with the new generation of NHL players.

Babcock’s pedigree is strong and he will have another shot at an NHL coaching job. Hopefully he can learn from his time with the Leafs to benefit a team in the future.

Prospects

Rasmus Sandin (D): A+ (21 GP – 2 G, 13 A, 15 PTS / AHL Toronto Marlies)

Sandin has been exceptional in NHL preseason, AHL, and World Junior Championship action this season. At only 19 years old, Sandin has earned his spot in the National Hockey League and has the ability to be a special player for a long time.

Nick Robertson (RW): A+ (28 GP – 31 G, 16 A, 47 PTS / OHL Peterborough Petes)

With 31 goals in 28 games, 18-year-old Nick Robertson is scoring at a higher rate than any player in Canadian Junior Hockey. The Leafs got a steal at #53 in the 2019 draft and Robertson could be up with the Leafs as early as next season.

Timothy Liljegren (D): A- (33 GP – 4 G, 20 A, 24 PTS / AHL Toronto Marlies)

Liljegren is finally having the breakout season that management hoped for. With career highs in goals, assists and points through only 33 games, the 20-year-old Liljegren is on the cusp of being an NHL regular.

Jeremy Bracco (RW): C (40 GP – 3 G, 29 A, 32 PTS / AHL Toronto Marlies)

After leading the AHL in scoring last year, Bracco has had a disappointing follow-up season. He has only mustered 3 goals in 40 games this season and with his 23rd birthday approaching in March, time is running out to prove his worth.

Conclusions

That concludes this mid-season report on the performances of every Leaf this season. With a tough road ahead of them, the Toronto Maple Leafs will need to evaluate their own performances and target areas for improvement to get themselves into the playoffs.