Toronto Maple Leafs: 5 Storylines of Success This Past Season

Finishing in 14th place overall based on points percentage isn’t exactly the type of success the Toronto Maple Leafs were expecting this season. However, there are some storylines that deserve a spotlight.

When any team begins their season, the ultimate goal is that they are lifting the Stanley Cup by the end of it. The 2019-20 Toronto Maple Leafs were no different at the start of this one.

Although the Maple Leafs made it into the qualifying round of the currently proposed post-season plan, the journey the team took to end up here wasn’t as successful as they would have hoped.

Sure, they’re in a playoff spot and anything can happen once that tournament begins. But there’s still a long road ahead before they can even consider if this could be a year that they finally do hoist their first Stanley Cup since 1967.

Let’s Not Get Ahead of Ourselves

Without predicting too far past the fact that this whole plan is still very much just that, I wanted to take a step back to shine a light on some of the storylines that did impact Toronto’s year.

Regardless of what comes next, whether the Maple Leafs do end up back on the ice this season or not, there were already positive takeaways they can be pleased with as they look ahead to their future.

These are things that the franchise and its fans should embrace and be excited about, as they celebrate the players involved and the team as a whole who is better because of them.

Of course, none of this means that I’m concluding that the campaign as a whole is deemed a success. As any hockey fan would agree, the only thing that can determine that is when your team is the last one to leave the ice for the year and with hardware in hand.

These are simply wins for the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise that are allowed to be appreciated. Here are five successful storylines that stood out to me from Toronto’s 2019-20 campaign.

Jason Spezza

After an obvious decline in his output with the Dallas Stars over the last few seasons, Jason Spezza signed with the Maple Leafs in the summer of 2019 for a one-year deal worth $700,000.

This was a low-risk commitment for the organization, allowing Spezza the opportunity to extend his career while giving Toronto the chance to squeeze out more production from this prolific scorer.

Already pressed up against the ceiling of their cap, finding deals was certainly a more ideal situation for Toronto. Acquiring a former 2nd overall pick for minimum money and term certainly fits that script.

Spezza entered his 17th season in the league at the start of the 2019-20 campaign. He clearly felt like he still had more to give to this game and getting to play for his hometown team would prove that point.

There was no question that he’d have to embrace a limited role, likely in the bottom-six, given the talent pool making up this Maple Leafs roster. But Spezza made the most of this situation.

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Spezza averaged 13:16 in ice time throughout 2018-19 with the Stars, accumulating 27 points throughout 76 games in his last year in Dallas. However, in only 10:50 of average ice time per game, he earned 25 points in only 58 games this past season.

It would seem he’s found a better fit and Toronto gets to be the beneficiary.

Jason Spezza clearly embraced his limited role with this organization, displaying dedication and commitment all year long. He should be re-signed this offseason, so his veteran presence can continue to influence this young team.

Zach Hyman

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins in the First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. And that wasn’t the only loss they encountered to end last season.

Zach Hyman was injured in Game 4 of that series. However, in typical Hyman fashion, he played on and completed the round. It was later announced that he had suffered a torn ACL and would require surgery.

Upon his return to action, after nearly seven months away from the game, he didn’t exactly ease into play. Hyman had over 17:30 of ice time in his first game back, on November 13, 2019. In fact, this past year saw his highest average ice time thus far throughout his career at 19:06 per game.

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Beyond effectively filling the role he’s become known for, in being the first into the less desirable areas of the rink to help his team however he can, he was also on pace for his most productive year to date.

Hyman continues to prove that passion leads his game. He knows he’s not expected to make the pretty plays, yet he gets involved throughout every inch of the ice and whoever he plays alongside elevates their game as a direct result.

It’s no longer a coincidence when it’s continual.

Being nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy makes perfect sense, after such a successful comeback and showing he’s still pushing to progress his game.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a better team with Zach Hyman there. It’s something special that he helps superstars reach their next level and he continues to progress his own productivity all the while.

William Nylander

As a restricted free agent entering the 2018 offseason, William Nylander was clearly not prepared to re-sign for anything less than he felt was fair.

The whole league was watching, as it took up until almost the last possible minute of the December 1, 2018 deadline for Toronto and Nylander to reach their deal. Had an agreement not been made in time, he would have been ineligible to play the rest of that season.

It was a six-year contract valued at over $45,000,000. By the time it was signed, half the season had already passed. But it was done, which meant he was able to return to play.

Perhaps it would have been better if he did miss the remainder of that 2018-19 schedule, after all.

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He had earned 61 points through 81 games in 2016-17 and 61 points within 82 contests through 2017-18. It would be putting it lightly, to say that his 27 point total playing in 54 games upon his return throughout 2018-19 was a disappointment.

A less than spectacular season, especially for a player who chose to wait as long as he did to get back into the game, making a statement about what he felt he was owed to play it.

With a fresh start upon this team for 2019-20, no player embraced that opportunity more than Nylander did this past year. He scored 31 goals and 28 assists for 59 total points throughout 68 contests in this breakout year, producing at a pace of 0.87 points per game.

William Nylander successfully rebounded from his worst professional season to date. With four years remaining on his current contract, scoring more than 30 goals per season will certainly help prove his value to this organization.

Auston Matthews

To say that there is a high level of expectation that comes along with being the first overall pick from any draft year would be accurate. And if you happened to be as heavily anticipated as Auston Matthews was, you’d better be ready to produce.

Matthews did not disappoint in his rookie campaign, scoring 40 goals throughout 2016-17. The 69 points he accumulated in the 82 games played that year also earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy, as the league’s best rookie.

He tallied another 34 goals through 62 contests in 2017-18. Despite a lower total, he scored at a pace of 0.55 per game that year as compared which was up from 0.49 the previous year.

In 2018-19, Matthews played 68 games and earned 37 goals, which was a pace of 0.54 per game. Was his scoring levelling off or was there more left to be seen?

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He wasted no time answers that question in 2019-20, starting the season by getting two goals (including the game-winner) against the Ottawa Senators in Toronto’s first game this past year.

And he didn’t stop there. Matthews picked up 47 goals in 70 games throughout 2019-20 as he forged his way into the race for the Rocket Richard Trophy, battling alongside Alexander Ovechkin and David Pastrnak all season long.

Ultimately, Ovechkin and Pastrnak ended up sharing the award with 48 goals each. This just goes to show the types of company we should be expecting Matthews to be mentioned amongst.

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Had the season completed as originally scheduled, Matthews was on pace for 55 goals by the end of it. He would have surpassed Rick Vaive, who earned 54 in 1981-82, to take over the franchise record for most goals in a single season.

Auston Matthews is expected to be the best player on the ice and he continues to show the Toronto Maple Leafs that he embraces that responsibility. As he evolves into a type of superstar unlike any this city has ever seen, fans will witness him make history in Toronto.

Obviously, none of these successes amount to the Toronto Maple Leafs winning a Stanley Cup. However, they help illustrate that the organization continues to elevate and progress. This team will create the storyline that no other Maple Leafs roster has been able to in over 50 years.