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Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 4 Breakout Candidates for 2021-22

By Stephen Nixon

MONTREAL, QC - MAY 24: William Nylander #88 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period against the Montreal Canadiens in Game Three of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on May 24, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - MAY 24: William Nylander #88 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period against the Montreal Canadiens in Game Three of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on May 24, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
MONTREAL, QC – MAY 24: William Nylander #88 of the Toronto Maple Leafs   (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

After another disappointing finish, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to have a few players have breakout seasons in order to compete for a Stanley Cup.

When it comes to breakout performances, we don’t exactly mean that a player needs to score 50 goals to qualify. Instead, they need to outperform their typical season and be someone who surprises the critics.

Last year’s example was Jason Spezza.

The 37-year-old scored 10 goals and registered 30 points in a shortened 56-game campaign and was one of the most reliable forwards. Sure, Spezza had scored nine goals in a similar timeframe with the Leafs in the previous season, but based on his age, nobody expected that sort of output. (All stats hockeydb.com).

With little support from the bottom-six, Spezza was one of the few bright spots, continuing to be productive, despite playing with players like Wayne Simmonds and Joe Thornton on a nightly basis.

Although he was already one of the best players in the NHL, you could also say that Auston Matthews had a breakout season last year. Not only did he win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, but he was also nominated for a Hart Trophy for the first time in his career.

Matthews showed the entire hockey community that he’s now clearly the best goal-scorer in the league and that he should be considered as an MVP candidate for the next decade.

Toronto has a lot of newcomers this year, but there could be a few friendly faces ready to make that next leap as the Leafs look to redeem themselves from that devastating series loss to the Montreal Canadiens last year.

Here are four potential players that could fused for a breakout campaign.

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