The Toronto Maple Leafs have a very talented one-two punch at the right wing position. Just like their centre ice position, the team has invested a lot of money in their right wingers.
If you compare the Toronto Maple Leafs right wing and left wing positions, you can clearly see that there is more talent on the right wing. That right side is lead by Mitch Marner and followed closely by William Nylander.
Those two have been and will need to continue being a source of offense. They had a combined 126 points last season and will need to have a similar output this season. Obviously a shortened season will mean lower point totals, but they’ll need to score at a similar pace.
Hopefully the rest of the right wing depth will be able to supply adequate secondary scoring. There are a few on the depth chart who have a promising future.
Toronto Maple Leafs Depth At Right Wing
Mitch Marner
Marner’s overall point totals have him close to a point per game player. So far he has recorded 83 goals and 208 assists for 291 points in 300 games. Those are impressive numbers, but if you breakdown his point totals over the last two seasons, his numbers are even more impressive.
He ended the 2018-19 season with 26 goals and 68 assists for 94 points in 82 games. Last season he recorded 16 goals and 51 assists for 67 points in 59 games. As you can see, he is turning into a player who is consistently scoring more than a point per game.
Marner has yet to reach the 30 goal mark, but he is more of a playmaker than a shooter. It would be nice if he would shoot more, but it’s hard not to be a playmaker when you’re passing the puck to either Auston Matthews or John Tavares. (Stats from: hockey-reference.com)
William Nylander
Nylander is not scoring at the same pace as Marner, but is still having a good start to a promising career. So far he has recorded 86 goals and 135 assists for 221 points in 307 games.
Although last season was a shortened season, Nylander was still able to reach the 30 goal mark for the first time in his career. If he can develop into a consistent 30 goal scorer who averages 65 – 70 points a season, then his $6.9 million contract is a steal for the next four seasons.
Like Marner, Nylander has played with both Matthews and Tavares on the top two lines. Playing with those two will always help the point totals.
Wayne Simmonds
Simmonds will be looking for a fresh start with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs this season. He has struggled the last two seasons playing with four different teams. Before the 2018-19 season, Simmonds was a consistent 20+ goal scorer and 40+ point producer.
Both the Leafs and Simmonds will be hoping he can rediscover his scoring touch and produce some good secondary scoring on the third line, although he is probably more properly used on a fourth line at this point. On a one-year deal worth $1.5 million, it will be a bargain for the Leafs if Simmonds produces like he did in 2016-17 or 2017-18. It will be interesting to see where they use him.
Travis Boyd
Boyd was signed in October as a Unrestricted Free Agent after spending three seasons with the Washington Capitals. During his time in Washington, he recorded 31 points in 85 games.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be hoping his new $700,000 one-year deal will be a low cost, high reward contract. Boyd has played both centre and right wing, but with the depth Toronto has at centre it is more likely that Boyd will be given a chance to make the team at the right wing position.
Yegor Korshkov
Korshkov is currently on the outside looking in, but I think he is ready to take the next step to become a full-time NHL player. Last season with the Marlies he recorded 25 points in 44 games. He also got the chance to play one game with the Maple Leafs and scored his first NHL goal in that game.
Right now Korshkov is on loan to play in the KHL with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. He is tied for the team lead in points with 21 points in 30 games. The fact that he is playing meaningful games right now should help him once training camp starts.
The Toronto Maple Leafs could be in for a pleasant surprise when Korshkov returns from the KHL for training camp.
Joey Anderson
Another player on the outside looking in is Joey Anderson. He is the player the Leafs got from New Jersey in the Andreas Johnsson trade.
With the Devils, he recorded 13 points in 52 games over parts of two seasons. His stats with the Binghamton Devils in the AHL last season were 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 44 games.
The Leafs are probably too deep for him to get much of a shot, but he is a good depth player for the Leafs to have and he in under contract for another three seasons. He was a Restricted Free Agent when the Leafs acquired him from the Devils. They were able to get him signed for three years with an annual cap hit of $750,000