Ranking the 3 Best Toronto Maple Leafs Players in 2019-20
The 2019-20 iteration of the Toronto Maple Leafs was a confusing one.
From October 2 until November 21, the Toronto Maple Leafs went 9-10-4, placing 20th league – an unacceptable record for a team vying to contend for the Stanley Cup.
Many had written off Toronto based on their abysmal start and were calling for the firing of Leafs coach Mike Babcock, something that had picked up steam ever since he was outcoached in the playoffs last spring.
With a mid-season coaching change, the team who many thought should have appeared from opening night finally broke out. With Sheldon Keefe in charge, the Toronto Maple Leafs went 15-6-2 over their next 23 games, landing 6th in the league, and rattled off a 10-game point streak during their hot run.
However, in a game on January 12, the Leafs luck seemed to have run out. Morgan Reilly, the heart and soul of the franchise, broke his foot and it seemed thereafter it was bad break after bad break for Toronto.
From then on until the stoppage, Toronto posted a record of 12-9-3, 14th in the league, and it appeared as if their magical 23-game run at the beginning of the Keefe era was a distant memory.
This roller-coaster ride of a season seemed to have rubbed off on some of the players as many experienced up-and-down seasons of their own.
While at times it was difficult for fans to find a single Leaf player playing well on some nights, taking the season as a whole, three players stood out as having good years.
For various reasons, these three individuals worked the hardest, produced fantastic on-ice results, and managed to silence every doubter who questioned their abilities.
Here are the 3 best members of the Toronto Maple Leafs this year.
3. Zach Hyman
Coming off ACL surgery in the 2019 offseason, many expected 2019-20 to be a washed year for Hyman, taking most of the year to continue his rehab and get his knee back to full health.
Not only did the Toronto native come back stronger and better than ever, he finally entrenched himself as a fantastic complement to the Leafs best players.
During Mike Babcock’s tenure in Toronto, the veteran coach made some questionable decisions. And while towards the end his relationship with management and the fanbase began to sour, one decision he made that did not receive enough credit in its time was the support he gave to Hyman.
Early on, fans were confused as to why Hyman, someone the average fan had never heard of, kept receiving ice time along with Matthews/Nylander or Tavares/Marner. Babcock continued to preach Hyman was the ultimate glue guy and could transform any line from good to great, but the results were proving otherwise.
Once Babs was fired and Keefe took over, he tried to move Hyman further down in the lineup, however, Hyman kept clawing and pushing to be put back on Matthews’ line, forcing Toronto’s head coach to concede that putting the 28-year old back on the goal-scorer’s wing was his rightful spot.
Hyman, who missed 19 games to start the year, still finished fourth on the team in goals with 21 (stats; NHL.com), also tying a career-high.
Should he have played a full 82-game season, Hyman would have registered 34 goals and 60 points, absolutely crushing both of his career highs.
2. William Nylander
Often criticized for being too ‘lazy’ and ‘lacking any impact skill’, Nylander destroyed any rumours about his gameplay this year.
Before we talk about his style of play and on-ice results, first we must discuss the one criticism of Nylander that is absolutely foolish – his contract.
Choosing to sit out the first two months of the 2018-19 season, Nylander decided to bet on himself and wait until he received a contract offer that he believed was fair. Agreeing to a 6-year, $6,900,000 on December 1st, 2018, Nylander was forced to jump in mid-way through a marathon where he had no real chance of catching up in.
Finishing the 2018-19 season with 7 goals and 27 points (stats; NHL.com), many fans labelled Dubas as weak and that he gave into Nylander’s demands – boy are those people wrong.
Immediately following the 2019 playoffs, Nylander joined Team Sweden for the World Championships and flat-out dominated. Nylander led the tournament in points with 18 in 8 games (stats; IIHF.com), more than NHL superstars such as Nikita Kucherov, Mark Stone, Patrick Kane, and Leon Draisaitl.
This tournament was exactly what Nylander needed to come back in 2019-20 as the player many projected him to be. The IIHF tourney, coupled with a number change to what he wore playing for Sweden, was the confidence boost Nylander needed to push him into the upper echelon of NHL stars.
One could even argue Nylander is underpaid. Evolving-hockey.com projects that if Nylander were to become a free agent this offseason, coming off the year he had, he could land an 8-year, $8,193,000 deal – almost $1.2 million more than the contract he signed.
Nylander also evolved on the defensive side as well, registering a 56% Corsi-for percentage at even strength, indicating that when the Swede is on the ice, the Leafs control majority of the play.
1. Auston Matthews
However, the award for ‘best season by a Leaf this year’ has to be given to the face of the franchise.
Any time you can put up near 50 goals you have to be doing something right.
Any time you can be on the verge of breaking a goal-scoring record for one of the most storied franchises in the league you have to be doing something right.
Any time you can lead the league in xGAR you have to be doing something right (stats; evolving-hockey.com).
Auston Matthews was flat out dominant in 2019-20 for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic wrote an article predicting individual player value ratings using the sites’ projected ‘Game Score Value Added’. The model uses the last three season as a frame of reference to predict players’ game score that then is translated to a win value.
Auston Matthews led all forwards in GSVA this season, finishing ahead of superstars such as Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin, and David Pastrnak.
It is no secret Matthews was in a heated Rocket Richard race towards the end of the season with Alex Ovechkin and David Pastrnak. While any one of those three players could have won it, Matthews is definitely the rightful winner, mostly because he did not receive the same man-advantage time the other two players did.
This season, Pastrnak had 48 goals while Matthews had 47 (stats; NHL.com), although, if Matthews received the same amount of powerplay time per game that Pastrnak received, Matthews totals leapfrog Pastrnak’s and he registers 49 goals.
Similarly, Ovechkin had 48 goals at the time of the stoppage and should Matthews have received the same amount of powerplay time Ovechkin did, Matthews’ totals jump to 53 goals, creating a significant gap between him and the rest.
Should that have carried through the rest of the season, Matthews would have finished with a blistering 62 goals, which would have been the highest goal total in one season since Ovechkin had 65 in 2007-08.
Matthews is also a center and is forced to take on more responsibility on the ice, unlike Pastrnak and Ovechkin who are both wingers.
But not only did Matthews establish himself as the best goal scorer in the league this year, but he also made significant strides in transforming himself into an all-around center. He set a career-high in faceoff percentage and began utilizing his 6”3’, 223-pound frame more often, also setting a career-high in hits.
Furthermore, Matthews developed into an absolute menace in the defensive end. He was tied for the league lead in takeaways among forwards with 78 (stats: foxpsports.com), finishing alongside someone who is raved about for his quick stick, defensive instincts, and Selke- esque play, Mark Stone.
Next. 2019-20 Toronto Maple Leafs Forwards Player Grades. dark
It is fair to say the 2019-20 season was not kind to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. But, there are certainly three guys who did not mind how it played out for them.