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Toronto Maple Leafs: Predicting Player Ratings for EA Sports NHL 21

By Eric Cruikshank

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 19: Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs speaks after being revealed as the cover athlete for EA Sports' "NHL 20" video game during the 2019 NHL Awards at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on June 19, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 19: Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs speaks after being revealed as the cover athlete for EA Sports' "NHL 20" video game during the 2019 NHL Awards at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on June 19, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
SUNRISE, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Frederik Andersen – 87 (NHL 20 Rating: 88)

Frederik Andersen has been one of the most consistent goaltenders in the NHL for the past five seasons, and despite having a series of tough stretches for the Maple Leafs in what was very inconsistent first half for the entire team, Andersen’s statistics have not drastically changed enough for him to have many alterations to his rating.

A .909 SV% along with a 2.85 GAA on a team that almost never had their ideal defensive lineup for a large portion of the season, while also having injury issues, does not waiver nearly as much criticism as he had.

Contextually speaking, the games that Andersen did underperform in were crucial for positioning the Toronto Maple Leafs in a playoff spot as they jockeyed with Florida for majority of the season, but I would be surprised to see if his rating significantly changed in the upcoming game.

Morgan Rielly – 87 (NHL 20 Rating: 88)

Morgan Rielly battled with a lot of adversity over this past season. After a strong 14 points through 14 games through the month of September, Rielly recorded just six points through 14 games in October, in what was an uncharacteristically bad month for the Leafs, and would finish with only 3 goals and 27 points through 47 games.

Rielly seemed to be playing a lot less offensively driven than previous seasons, as he is typically known for being able to put defenders on their heels when skating end-to-end, but averaged under 0.1 rush attempts per-60 minutes in the games he played in comparison to last season’s 0.69 attempts per-60.

Rielly’s numbers also drastically dropped in his ability to create offensive chances for his teammates, as he went from averaging 0.69 rebounds created per-60 minutes in the 2018-19 season to 0.29 in 2019-20.

Rielly came back to play just one game after recovering from a fractured foot which he suffered in early January in a game against the Panthers, and instantly played a pivotal role for the Leafs defensive core in a crucial 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Rielly still did not look 100% back to regular speed, and arguably looked as if he was brought back too early. Although, Rielly is a smart enough player that he is able to adapt to a lot of different in-game scenarios where he can be effective without being the best version of himself.

Due to the massive decrease in points, coming off of his a career-best 74-point season, while also being absence for a significant period of time, I cannot see how EA will not be lowering Rielly’s overall, despite his obvious value to the Leafs defensive core.

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