Who Will be the Toronto Maple Leafs Biggest Surprise This Season?

Toronto Maple Leafs fans know what they’ll get from players like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, but what players will surprise fans this season?

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a few players on their 2022-23 season roster that can surprise fans. Some might surprise fans more than others, but the potential is there. The surprises could come from players within the system or new additions. I think fans will be surprised by both.

Not all surprises are flashy and shown as a highlight of the night. Performing well defensively and being a good penalty killer sometimes goes unnoticed. An example of a pleasant surprise from last season is David Kampf. Many fans wondered why Toronto GM Kyle Dubas signed Kampf to a two-year deal for $1.5 million a season. After all, he only scored one goal and 12 points the season before Toronto signed him. Kampf played in all 82 games scoring 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points. The bonus was how great he was defensively and on the penalty kill.
(Stats from hockey-reference.com) (Salary info from capfriendly.com)

Another surprise last season was Michael Bunting scoring 23 goals and 40 assists for 63 points in 79 games. Fans did not know what to expect from Bunting when the Toronto Maple Leafs signed him. He only played 26 NHL games with the Arizona Coyotes before Dubas signed him. Just like Kampf, Bunting became a fan favorite rather quickly.

Possible Surprises on 2022-23 Toronto Maple Leafs Roster

Here is a look at a few players that could surprise fans in Toronto this season.

Calle Jarnkrok

Calle Jarnkrok has registered 106 goals and 135 assists for 241 points in 574 games over eight seasons. During those eight seasons, Jarnkrok has recorded 30 points or more on five occasions. I see Jarnkrok as the perfect replacement for Ondrej Kase.

Kase recorded 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 50 games last season. Jarnkrok recorded 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 66 games. He could see playing time on Toronto’s second line from time to time but will spend most of his time on the third line. Jarnkrok could surprise everyone and score 20 goals in a season for the first time in his career. The closest he has come is scoring 16 goals twice.

Timothy Liljegren

Timothy Liljegren is a bit of a late bloomer for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Drafted 17th overall in the 2017 NHL draft, Liljegren took his time getting to the NHL. He finally made the jump last season and recorded five goals and 18 assists for 23 points in 61 games.

Freshly signed to a two-year deal worth $1.4 million a season, Liljegren will be looking to improve on last season’s statistics. Will this be the season when Liljegren surprises fans and becomes a top-four defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs? I think it could be.

Matt Murray

Matt Murray has struggled the past three seasons due to injuries and dealing with the loss of his father. Toronto is hoping his injury problems are behind him. The Maple Leafs and their fans would love to see Murray return to the level of play that helped him win two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

A pleasant surprise for everyone would be to see Murray stay healthy and play a minimum of 50 games this season. It’s good that Toronto brought Ilya Samsonov in should Murray falter, but I hope he doesn’t. The best surprise would be Murray playing 50+ games and recording 30+ wins. It could become one of the best comeback stories of the year.

These are my three picks for who could be Toronto’s biggest surprise of the 2022-23 season. Do you agree with these picks? Let me know in the comments.