2021 Toronto Maple Leafs Regular Season Forward Grades

The Toronto Maple Leafs have just concluded one of their best regular seasons  of all-time, followed by one of the most disappointing playoff performances of all-time.

Finishing with a record of 35-14-7 the Toronto Maple Leafs have won just their third division title in team history.  As pathetic as this is in the big picture, it also makes it a really special accomplishment for this group of players. Though, it must be said, one that has dulled considerably since the playoff loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

The Leafs tore through the Canadian Division (as predicted) and found themselves playing an opening round series against the Montreal Canadiens, something that hasn’t happened since 1979, 42 years ago.

Of course this is mostly because the Leafs were in the West (why?) for so long, and the two teams could only meet up in the event of a Stanley Cup Final.  This famously almost occurred in 1993 but….well there’s no need to rehash that..

The Leafs success this season is due to many reasons – first and foremost, team MVP Auston Matthews, but also the great cast that surrounds him, including the player that may just have put this roster over the top – T.J Brodie.  And yes, I do consider this a successful season. The Playoffs were disappointing, but what can you do? (all stats for this article from naturalstattrick.com).

Sorry for the long intro, let’s get on with it. Here are your Toronto Maple Leafs 2021 regular season grades.

Auston Matthews

While recovering from a bout of Covid that he had last summer, and overcoming some of the worst facial hair in the history of humanity, Auston Matthews had a season for the ages and was nominated for the Hart, though there is no chance he wins.

Scoring goals  at a rate note seen since Mario Lemieux’s prime, Matthews finished the year with 41 goals in 52 games, and is only not going to win the Hart Trophy because his historic season coincides with Connor McDavid scoring over 100 points in 56 games.

Does it matter that Matthews is superior at defense, than goals are more important than assists, that the Leafs do better with Matthews on the ice that Edmonton does with McDavid on the ice?

It really doesn’t. McDavid is on an other level.  He was scoring like three points per game as the season wound down, and the fact is that Matthews plays on a team that would still have a chance at a Stanley Cup without him.  McDavid’s Oilers are basically an expansion team without him.

Final totals for Matthews: 41 goals, 54% Corsi, 65% goals-for.   Insane.

He’s the best player in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs and his ability to score nearly a goal per game in this era makes him one of the best humans to ever put on a pair of skates.  I hope that he’s at this level, healthy, and playing 82 games next year because I’d like to see how close he can come to scoring 80 goals.  I don’t it’s more of a longshot that he plays a full 82 than him scoring a goal every game, if healthy. Only a wrist injury stopped him from potentially scoring 56 this year.

Mitch Marner

Before Auston Matthews, Mats Sundin was easily the best player in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  By the time his career is over, Mitch Marner could very well pass Mats as well.

The season he just had would be good enough to win a Hart Trophy is some other years.  Marner is an absolute machine who would be rocking his third straight 90 point season if not for the pandemic.

He isn’t just a great player, he’s about the most likable athlete on the planet this side of Pinball Clemons.  Or, at least he was until the playoffs this year.

After his performance in this year’s playoffs, Nylander seems to have Freaky Fridayed with Marner, and now each of the Leafs co-stars has reversed their standing among fans.

It’s ridiculous, but what can you do? Marner will eventually become the kind of playoff warrior everyone wants him to be and we will all collectively forget about the rough start to his career in the playoffs.

Marner is one of the NHL’s best defensive players, and he’s one of the NHL’s best offensive players.  He is looking to be the next Mark Stone or Patrice Bergoeron, only he scores way more than those guys do.  He is worth every penny and next year he will make us all forget about this year as he uses his iron will to grind the Leafs all the way to glory.

John Tavares

Much was made of his early season struggles, but they were really just bad puck luck that led to a low shooting percentage.  Add in a bit of an increased focus on defense  and his point totals were a bit off.

But then he rebounded and finished with 50 points in 56 games,   nearly a point per game.  Tavares in a full season probably finishes somewhere around  35/80 and is also worth every single penny.  He’s the league’s best second line player, he is a great captain and a nice guy who can’t possibly be as boring as his TV interviews suggest.

Signing Tavares is still one of the great moves in NHL history and a reason why Kyle Dubas is destined to go down as the best general manager the Toronto Maple Leafs have ever had.  It’s awesome to watch a great team play every night, it’s even better to know that team is made up of quality humans you can root for.

Tavares is a quietly efficient superstar who is almost underrated these days due to hiding in plain site on a star studded team.  He’s like the U-God or Cappadonna of the Leafs – perhaps overshadowed by the big names, but he just gets it done every single time with a skill level that somehow always catches you off guard.

And if he wasn’t injured two minutes into the Playoffs, this article would be about how the Leafs are on the verge of beating the Golden Knights and winning the Stanley Cup.

Zach Hyman

Few players have ever lived up to they hype after being an overrated lunchpail grinder.

For years Hyman was the kind of non-skilled checker this market loves to overrate, but along the way he somehow morphed into a legitimate first line player.

He is now 29 and it would be stupid to sign him to a long-term contract extension, but it will still suck to watch him leave.

At 5v5 Hyman provided 99 percentile offense, and elite defense.  He scored at a 30 goal pace and it could be argued that his knee injury cost the Leafs a playoff round and a President’s Trophy.

He wasn’t great in the playoffs (probably still injured) and if there is anyway he could come back on a short-term deal, that would be fantastic.  It’s unlikely though. Hyman is only going to get one chance to cash in, and he would have to leave in excess of 20 million dollars on the table to come back.

Still, what a great guy, great player and a great season he had.

Alex Kerfoot

A versatile Forward who added being a decent penalty killer to his portfolio this season, Alex Kerfoot continues to be a solid member of the team, even if he always has the shadow of Nazem Kadri hanging over him.

The Leafs acquired Kerfoot because he was coming off a season where he was the NHL’s best defensive forward, but he hasn’t lived up to that in T.O.

This year his defense was just average and he didn’t score much at all, though part of that falls at the feet of Ilya Mikheyev.  Still, I’d have to say for the cost of him in a studs and duds cap system, he was a disappointment this season, even if he was good in the playoffs.

8 goals, 23 points and middling defense……..that’s a bad recipe and nothing you couldn’t have gotten out of Kenny Agostino for a quarter of the cost.  Kerfoot spent parts of the year on the fourth line and at times seemed to lose his job to Pierre Engvall.

I love the player, I love the thinking behind the trade that brought him here, but I gotta give him a bad grade for this season, likely his last in Toronto.

Ilya Mikheyev

The defense is great, and if he had any luck he’d be  a scoring machine.  Though this is probably confirmation bias on my part, I’ve never seen anyone get so many breakaways and do so little with them.

For the $1.5 they are paying him, I can live with his lack of offense since his defense is just shy of being elite.  If he was a bit luckier he’d probably be a really valuable player.

I loved him on a line with Engvall and Hyman, though it’s expensive and dumb to play Hyman so low in the lineup (unless all lines played evenly).

All things being equal, I’d bring him back for the last year of his contract, but if pennies really needed to be pinched I don’t think you lose much swapping him out with an ELC contract for half the price.

Pierre Engvall

Pierre Engvall is the kind of player you love if you are the Toronto Maple Leafs. He doesn’t cost anything, and he’s a big guy, capable of playing all over the lineup, and he has a bit of upside.

Still just 24 years old, Engvall really seemed to come on as the season ended, first playing great on a line with Hyman and Mikheyev, then finished the year with four goals in five games.

At the very least, Engvall can form one of the NHL’s best fourth lines next season with Jason Spezza, and as I mentioned, he’s  got some upside.  If he can learn to use his body more, maybe get a bit more consistent, I don’t see why he can’t be a decent third liner who can move around the lineup in case of injury.

Considering he never had a consistent role and always had to fight players who weren’t any better than him for playing time, I think he had a decent season.

Joe Thornton

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Joe Thornton, then put him on the first line.  I thought this was crazy, and possibly even pretty dumb, but when the stats were off-the charts, I came around. Maybe Joe would be a great LW on the top line and free up Hyman to be used elsewhere.

It was a good idea, but it didn’t work because Thornton cannot produce anymore.  He had ten points in ten games to kick off the year, then was completely useless the rest of the way,  getting ten points in his final 35 games.

Despite getting the sixth most minutes on the Toronto Maple Leafs power-play this season, Thornton only produced 5 PP points.  Out of all the players who received similar PP time this year, Joe Thornton ranks 145th in the NHL in points per minute on the power-play.  Considering the other players on the Leafs PP, Thornton should have scored more often just by accident.

Anyways, it was a nice thought to bring the universally beloved NHL legend into try and win a Stanley Cup, but it didn’t work out.  By going overboard in the direction of veteran leadership, the Leafs all but shut out any hungry, high-upside prospects from contributing this year, and that was a mistake.

We love you Joe, but like Patrick Marleau before you, it’s just not gonna work here.

Jason Spezza

For the second straight season Jason Spezza gave the Leafs first line scoring rates from the fourth line. The advanced stats aren’t too hot, but the guy produces from a spot in the lineup where everything is a bonus.

He’s also a world-class guy and a great leader for this team.

Wayne Simmonds

Wayne was OK, and I admit his style and attitude won me over.  Statistically, I can’t say the same thing. He had nine points in 38 games, and one really embarrassing fight where he beat up the highest scoring defenseman in Vancouver Canucks history, a player with zero career NHL fights,  for an accidental knee on Zach Hyman.

It was a play that really encapsulated the worst of hockey culture in a single fight. Good times where not had by anyone who’s profile picture isn’t a selfie with their sunglasses on in the front seat of their truck.

Adam Brooks

He was OK in his 11 games and 100 minutes.  He scored 4 goals, which is almost certainly just good luck, but he deserves a shot at a full-time job. I’d rather watch him than a bunch of guys in their late thirties who get by on their names.

Grade: B+

Alex Galchenyuk

He has the talent to contribute, but he also makes blind passes in overtime and is partially why I’m not waiting another month to do this post.

Grade: C

Jimmy Vesey

Next.

Grade: F

Travis Boyd

For a while he was the next Hyman, and then  he wasn’t and now is never gonna be.

Grade: C

Alex Barabanov

I would have liked to seen what he could have done if given the chance to actually earn playing time. Unfortunately, the Leafs played a bunch of ex-stars with zero upside over him.

Grade: a Keefe-Assisted F  (not his fault at all)

Nick Foligno

Is there a grade lower than an F?  Cause if so, I’d like to give it out here.  What makes this so frustrating is I knew it was a terrible idea, but I bought into the hype.

Grade: F-

Petan, Robertson, Anderson, Agostino, Sabourin, Noseum and Nash

They receive incompletes, except for Nash who gets a F through no fault of his own.  If there was one thing I have ever been right about, it’s that you shouldn’t gift an injured player who has never played on your team a roster spot in the playoffs when he hasn’t played for six weeks, and even under the best of circumstances scores so little that his elite-level defense barely earns him a fourth line job.   I said that was a bad move from the outset, and for once, I was right.  What a garbage decision.

Those are the grades of your Toronto Maple Leafs forwards.  Look for management, goalie and defense grades in the coming days.