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Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Players Due For a Bounce Back in 2024

By Mitchell Hartman

Morgan Rielly #44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers during first period action in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the FLA Live Arena on May 7, 2023 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
Morgan Rielly #44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers during first period action in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the FLA Live Arena on May 7, 2023 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs probably will look slightly different on opening night than they do today, but they will still be relying on three main players to improve over last year in order to contend.

The 2022-23 NHL season featured some Toronto Maple Leafs having their best seasons ever:

William Nylander reached 40 goals for the first time and was one of the NHL’s premier offensive players. The Leafs will need him to match last season, but can’t expect too much more beyond what is probably his ceiling.

Goalies Ilya Samsonov had his best ever season, finishing with a career high 27 wins, and posting the highest save percentage in the NHL on high-danger shots.  Goalies are unpredictable and there is no way of knowing how Samsonov will perform this year (hence the team refusing to sign him to a long-term deal and taking him to arbitration) but anything close to what he did last year would be nice.

Joseph Woll had an amazing year, and was the organization’s best goalie, looking pretty much unbeatable whether he played in the NHL or the AHL.

Furthermore, Connor Timmins quietly put up 14 points in 25 games.

On the other hand, some Toronto Maple Leafs players were disappointing last season.

These players were a little underwhelming, whether it was due to a lack of production or just not reaching expectations.

I, however, believe that these players are more than capable of bouncing back next season, and I would bet on it happening more likely than not.

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