3 Toronto Maple Leafs That Will Dominate and Help Lead in the Playoffs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to return to the ice in less than three weeks to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets in their play in series.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are scheduled to begin their play-in series against the Columbus Blue Jackets on August 2nd in Toronto.
There has been lot’s of talk of who the fans want to play and who the fans want to be paired together on defense.
Let’s change it up and let’s go over three Toronto Maple Leafs players who will dominate and help lead their team during the play in series and beyond.
3. Ilya Mikheyev – 25 years old – LW/RW
2019-20 stats – 39 GP – 8 G – 15 A – 23 PTS – 53.48% CF%
At my number three spot starting off the list I have “Souperman”, Ilya Mikheyev. As we all know by now and by the amount of times I’ve said this, Mikheyev’s season was cut short due to his wrist injury back in December.
Mikheyev was on a tremendous pace in his first year with the Toronto Maple Leafs, better yet his first year in the NHL by putting up 23 points in just 39 games playing on the third line most nights and sometimes on the second line.
His return to the team will be huge and he’ll make an enormous impact on the ice for many reasons.
He’s clearly a top 9 player that can slot in on any line and help make any line better, he plays the penalty kill and will make it better with his presence when returning. I also truly think he could be a 50 point scorer in the NHL so I wouldn’t be surprised if he puts up a decent amount of points in the series against the Blue Jackets. (Stats from NHL.com)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – DECEMBER 27: Morgan Rielly #44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on December 27, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
2. Morgan Rielly – 26 years old – D
2019-20 stats – 47 GP – 3 G – 24 A – 27 PTS – 51.65% CF%
At my number two spot on this list I have long time Toronto Maple Leafs defensemen, Morgan Rielly.
Just like Mikheyev, I have Rielly coming back to the play in series and dominating simply because of him going through injuries this year and not playing like the Morgan Rielly we saw during the 2018-19 season.
Rielly didn’t suffer his injury until January but it was almost obvious that something was nagging him all season as he wasn’t producing at the same rate he was last season and he just looked sloppy as a whole.
He’s a very important piece on this Toronto Maple Leafs team, one of the best defensemen on the team that averages up north of 24 minutes a night and quarterbacks either the first power play unit or the second power play unit depending what Keefe is feeling with him and Barrie.
Rielly returned right in time before the NHL season went on pause playing against the Tampa Bay Lightning and playing a pretty solid game nonetheless, posting up 21:47 minutes of ice time, one shot, one block, and one hit as well.
Having Rielly recover from his leg injury from January and recover from whatever what nagging him during the season on top of the four month pause of the NHL season should give Morgan Rielly a healthy comeback and we could potentially see the Rielly we saw last year. (Stats from NHL.com)
Toronto Maple Leafs – Auston Matthews (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images).
1. Auston Matthews – 22 years old – C
2019-20 stats – 70 GP – 47 G – 33 A – 80 PTS – 54.11% CF%
At my number one and final spot on this list I have the Toronto Maple Leafs best player, Auston Matthews. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I have Auston Matthews on this list, I mean look at the season he had this year and the amount of goals he put up in only 70 games.
Matthews has always been up there as the best Maple Leaf every season points wise since his rookie season, after playing a full healthy season for the first time since 2016-17 we got to see Matthews pot home 47 goals and be on pace to break the Maple Leaf record of goals in a season… if the season never got paused.
With four months off and giving their body a break I think this break will either be beneficial for these hockey players or just make them rusty with all this time off, but I think for Matthews returning to the ice to play the Blue Jackets will benefit him and make it feel like a brand new season.
We’ve all seen how Auston Matthews plays to start a brand new season, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if this man pots home countless goals and even produces on the assist side as well. If the Toronto Maple Leafs go far he will be a key piece for the Maple Leafs offence going forward. (Stats from NHL.com)
Next. Toronto Maple Leafs Regular Season Grades. dark
Who do you think will benefit most with this four month break and dominate and help lead the Toronto Maple Leafs in the play in round and potentially beyond?