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

2 of 4

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.

TORONTO, CANADA – MAY 2: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Players Due For A Bounce Back

#1-Auston Matthews

Now this one’s fairly obvious.

It’s no secret Auston Matthews had a disappointing season in 2022-23 – at least by his standards.

He followed up a 2021-22 campaign in which he scored 60 goals and 106 points, winning himself a load of awards, with a 2022-23 season where he fell to 40 goals and 85 points. (stats: nhl.com)

By no means did he have a BAD season, Matthews just failed to reach his lofty standards. In all fairness, he did play with a nagging wrist injury for most of the season.

Since he had previously established himself as someone who could score a goal per game (he scored 50 in 50 the year before) Matthew’s downturn was clearly injury related.

I myself, along with many others, predict a strong bounce-back for Auston Matthews next season.

Look for “Papi” to score 55+ goals and contend for another Hart and Maurice Richard Trophy.

Connor McDavid had a career season in his age 26 season (he’s born earlier in the year and is a year ahead of Matthews despite both having been born in 1997) and don’t think that Matthews isn’t aware of that – he’s a competitive guy and he won’t be satisfied with last year’s totals.

A career year is possible in 2024.

Morgan Rielly #44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

#2-Morgan Rielly

Morgan Rielly’s disappointing regular season was overshadowed by his strong playoffs, where he was arguably one of the Toronto Maple Leafs best players.

In the 2023 playoffs, Rielly had 4 goals (which tied his entire regular season output), and 12 points, which were second on the entire team.

Weirdly, a lot of the credit for his rejuvenation went to Luke Schenn, but that was highly likely to have just been a coincidence.

Schenn is a fine player, but he’s a borderline NHLer at this time in his career, and it was far more likely that Rielly was just healthy for the first time all season, and that Schenn was there to benefit (and after three years of being forced to sign single-season deals, Schenn surely did benefit from Rielly’s play, perhaps more so than ever Rielly himself).

Last regular season, Rielly had only had 4 goals and 41 points in 68 games. Again, those aren’t bad by any means, but Rielly can do better, especially considering he had a very strong 10-goal, 68-point season as recently as 2022.

Last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs only won Rielly’s minutes by a single goal, and his Expected Goals Rating was about even. This is down from Norris-Level heights in 18-19 when the Leafs won 60% of Rielly’s minutes, and his Expected Goals Rating was 59%

No one expects Rielly to get back to that level, but surely he can do better than he did last year, where he was barely more than a replacement player at even-strength.

Bet on MO Rielly bouncing back.

Apr 30, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Tyler Bertuzzi (59) Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

#3-Tyler Bertuzzi

Last but not least is a newcomer to the Leafs, that of course being Tyler Bertuzzi.

You can criticize the Leafs for their best on Max Domi and John Klingberg, but the Tyler Bertuzzi signing was really solid. Not only did the Leafs add a potential star forward, they did it in a very smart way.

The Leafs may have been unable to match the ridiculous contract Nashville gave to Luke Schenn, but seeing how a good couple of weeks in Toronto can pay off on future contracts likely gave them the perfect sales pitch to make to Tyler Bertuzzi, who signed for much cheaper and shorter a term than I think anyone probably expected.

Bertuzzi, like Rielly and Matthews, had a very strong 2021-22 season. As a member of the Detroit Red Wings, Bertuzzi put up 30 goals and 62 points in just 68 games. This past season, he only scored 8 times in 50 games.

I believe this could be Bertuzzi’s best season yet.

He’s a lock to be playing in Toronto’s top-6, and with all due respect to the Boston Bruins, this Leafs team will be the most offensively talented team Bertuzzi has ever played for. If you can pick up Bertuzzi in your fantasy drafts, take him.

dark. Next. Is This the Worst Period of Poor Drafting in NHL History?

The Toronto Maple Leafs have plenty of great players on their roster, and with plenty of them on expiring deals, this team will be a whole lot of fun.

It’s going to be a fun 2023-24 season.

Home / Analysis