2022-2023 Toronto Maple Leafs Player Grades: Part 3

The 2022-23 The Toronto Maple Leafs season had the trappings of every Hollywood motion picture – heroes emerging, character arcs, villains ruining the day – except it was missing the signature happy ending.

The Toronto Maple Leafs players starred in a sequel of that drama filled horror film that fans have struggled through, eyes squinting at times, for the seventh time.

Leafs Nation has watched this picture play out over and over, yet they still keep buying tickets, the moment the credits roll.

One of these years, the Leafs will write a new script.

Some of the cast won’t return for the 2023-24 installment, but the core of the ensemble is back for another version; trying to capture a Stanley Cup (they are Oscar ineligible since Michael Bunting is gone) for the first time in more than half a century .

More changes should be coming before the Toronto Maple Leafs dress for opening night. The season premiere is set for Wednesday, October 11 at home in the Scotiabank Arena against their storied rival Montreal Canadiens. Before we get to another winter blockbuster for this franchise, let’s take a look back at how some of their players performed last year.

Only returning players that appeared in a combined three games (regular season plus playoffs) will be considered. We will cover forwards first and no better place to start than the Maple Leafs’ captain, John Tavares.

Here are the previous entries into this series:  Player Grades Part 1.

And of course, Part 2. 

Toronto Maple Leafs Grades #1. John Tavares

Stats with the Leafs:

Regular Season:

Games Played: 80

Goals: 36

Assists: 44

Playoffs:

Games Played: 11

Goals: 4

Assists: 4

Contract Status:

Signed through 2024-25 (capfriendly.com).

Overall Thoughts:

When the Leafs traded for Ryan O’Reilly, it gave Head Coach Sheldon Keefe more flexibility for line combinations. One of the first moves he made was to switch Tavares to the wing and put O’Reilly on the same line as the center.

It was something, Keefe said, that the team had discussed for quite some time. Tavares, for his part, had no external issues with the decision. Always a stoic, professional leader, Tavares kept his head up and took his top-10 faceoff percentage to become a left winger.

The move did not last long. O’Reilly ended up playing down the middle on the third-line for most of his tenure and into the playoffs except for late in games when the Leafs needed to stack their top six.

But, the true meaning behind that move was obvious: Tavares looks like he’s slowing down in his early thirties. He has never been considered fast and his defensive game is mostly solid, but even a watered down version of the Toronto captain is as consistent as ever. He’s been a point-a-game producer since his rookie season.

Tavares’ production, for a second-line center, is robust (let’s take his salary out of the discussion) and he excels on the power-play. Tavares scored a team high 18 goals with the man advantage in 2022-23 with many coming in front of the net, where many players won’t go.

Some might not love how much he makes per year and believe the contract ex-General Manager Kyle Dubas gave him hinders the team in adding value players, but Tavares’ overall play is still strong. Plus, even though fans want to see more passion from him (watch the series-clinching overtime goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning again!), Tavares does bring many intangibles that make the Leafs a better team. (stats nhl.com).

#2. David Kampf

Stats with the Leafs:

Regular Season:

Games Played: 82

Goals: 7

Assists: 20

Playoffs:

Games Played: 11

Goals: 0

Assists: 3

Contract Status:

Signed a 4-year extension that runs through 2026-27 at $2.4M AAV.

Overall Thoughts:

David Kampf plays defense well and kills penalties. He also takes many of the Leafs defensive zone face-offs despite only winning slightly over 50 percent of them. When he’s on the ice, it’s much ado about nothing. It’s like drinking a non-alcoholic beer.

Kampf’s role on the Leafs is clear, but sometimes it’s hard to say if he’s a third-line or fourth line center. If you look at the numbers he puts up in the 15 minutes he gets a game, you’d have to think he’s anchoring the latter.

He doesn’t make life miserable for the opposition and he doesn’t go to the ‘greasy’  areas. Despite being heralded by teammates for his workout regimen, Kampf rarely throws any jarring bodychecks and was 13th on the team last year in blocked shots.

If you watch closely, Kampf spends a good amount of time each shift with the seat of his shorts on the ice. It seems he gets bowled over quite easily.

For a bottom third player on the roster, one would think that the Leafs could find a grittier forward who throws his weight around more than Kampf. Even one capable of playing in the top-six for spot duty when injuries set in. Especially at a third of his cost.

Kampf is durable, though, and he seems well liked by teammates, but his production last year was not enough of a factor.

#4. Pontus Holmberg

Stats with the Leafs:

Regular Season:

Games Played: 23

Goals: 5

Assists: 8

Playoffs:

Games Played: 0

Contract Status:

Signed through 2024-25 at $800K AAV on a two-way deal.

Overall Thoughts:

Holmberg could be an interesting player for the Leafs this coming season. Last year, he earned the early season trust of Keefe only to be sent down after being in the lineup for a quarter of the schedule.

Holmberg could literally do what Kampf does and makes three times less. He’s a defensive-minded center who can also play wing if needed and never seems out of position with one exception: his faceoff efficiency was low.

Holmberg’s sample size was small this past season mainly because he can be sent down to the Toronto Marlies without having to clear waivers. He would have stuck with the big club had he done enough to force Keefe into making that decision.

The same thing can happen this year, again, largely in part to the Leafs being tight to the higher end of the salary cap. So it is somewhat hard to grade him out.

#5. Bobby McMann

Stats with the Leafs:

Regular Season:

Games Played: 10

Goals: 0

Assists: 1

Playoffs:

Games Played: 0

Contract Status:

Signed through 2023-24 at $762,500K AAV on a two-way deal.

Overall Thoughts:

McMann is a plugger and he’s fun to watch. The guy skates with enthusiasm and loves to use his body. Okay, so he only dressed for 10 games with the Maple Leafs and accumulated one meager assist. But, he had a few goals called back and was always around the action.

There is a noticeable high degree of physicality in his game. McMann can also be sent down to the American Hockey League without getting plucked off the waiver wire by another club. He may stick around for longer periods this coming season, because he accounts for the smallest percentage of the team’s salary cap imaginable.

He also injects some energy into the flow of the game and seems like the type of grinder that could come through when the stakes are high. Remember those weeknight games against bottom-feeder teams, when the Leafs played down to their opponent?

McMann could help in those situations, simply because he doesn’t know any better. Every time he’s on the ice, he looks like a kid who just wants to play.

#6. Nicholas Robertson

Stats with the Leafs:

Regular Season:

Games Played: 15

Goals: 2

Assists: 3

Playoffs:

Games Played: 0

Contract Status:

Signed through 2023-24 at $796,667K AAV on a two-way deal.

Overall Thoughts:

There are only a handful (or less) players in this organization that were drafted, groomed in the AHL and are still part of the club. And only one that shows the kind of promise that Nicholas Robertson has in spurts.

He’s fast and has a heavy shot. He’s kind of akin to Phil Kessel without the hot dog sponsorship or his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. Robertson had one good game last season. Literally, just one. It came at home against his brother’s team, the Dallas Stars, and Nicholas bested Jason with a two-goal performance, including the overtime winner.

Then, Robertson (the Leaf) did what he typically does: he got injured. This time for the remainder of the season. No one can blame a guy for getting hurt and everyone hopes he can stay upright on his skates, but to be a regular in the NHL, a player must have a body type that can absorb punishment.

The Leafs desperately need a healthy Robertson to push some incumbents with in-house competition and infuse some goal scoring to a pretty lackluster bottom-six forward group.

It feels like Robertson needs to complete grade twelve again before going off to university. For that reason, he will get an incomplete, but he has ‘A’ game potential.

#7. Matthew Knies

Stats with the Leafs:

Regular Season:

Games Played: 3

Goals: 0

Assists: 1

Playoffs:

Games Played: 7

Goals: 1

Assists: 3

Contract Status:

Signed through 2023-24 at $925,000K AAV on a two-way, entry-level deal.

Overall Thoughts:

It did not take Knies long to fit into what the Toronto Maple Leafs do and become a fan favorite. He brings a style of play and element that the Leafs sorely need. A rugged, power forward who has a scoring touch.

Knies needs to bulk up, and he will. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher only dressed in three regular season games after playing in the NCAA Frozen Four. A week and a half later, he was in the same venue, Amalie Arena in Tampa, taking a regular shift in the NHL playoffs.

And, he did not seem out of place. Knies would go on to score a gigantic goal for the Leafs in the second round at home against the Eastern Conference Champion Florida Panthers.

He was then promptly hog-tied by Panthers forward/wrestler Sam Bennett in game two, who then drove Knies’ head straight into the ice in plain sight. All without drawing a penalty. Vince McMahon should be proud. Knies missed the rest of the series.

The 20-year-old, American born college star needs to work on his skating too, but he figures to get lots of looks from Keefe on various lines when the season unfolds. Knies brings a youthful, passionate style to a team consisting of many players who are about to enter their prime.

Give this lad top six minutes and he will produce.

#8. William Nylander

Stats with the Leafs:

Regular Season:

Games Played: 82

Goals: 40

Assists: 47

Playoffs:

Games Played: 11

Goals: 4

Assists: 6

Contract Status:

Signed through 2023-24 at $6,962,366M AAV.

Overall Thoughts:

Wee Willy Nylander was one of only four players to compete in all 82 games of the schedule in 2022-23. He also scored 40 goals for the first time in his career. Keefe toyed with Nylander as a penalty killer last pre-season and in a few games when points were up for grabs, but it never materialized into a permanent thing.

Nylander is perhaps the most skilled player in the organization. The trouble is that it seems like he shies away from contact and doesn’t always play to his maximum abilities.

Often, Nylander loafs in the neutral zone and does not provide the Leafs D corps a proper outlet. His added attention to playing the full sheet of ice could make him elite.

Still, Nylander had a fantastic season. He has sick speed and can make many NHL defenseman look like they are back in Bantam. In addition, Nylander had a knack for scoring important goals. He tied the game late against the Florida Panthers on ghost pepper hot Sergei Bobrovsky in the Leafs’ playoff elimination game.

Nylander was also third on the team in regular season game-winning goals – many of them coming in overtime. He finished second behind Mitchell Marner in total points, despite Keefe assigning him fewer minutes than both Marner and Auston Matthews.

Nylander gets an ‘A’, but it just seems like he could do so much more.

#9. Mitchell Marner

Stats with the Leafs:

Regular Season:

Games Played: 80

Goals: 30

Assists: 69

Playoffs:

Games Played: 11

Goals: 3

Assists: 11

Contract Status:

Signed through 2024-25 at $10,903,000M AAV.

Overall Thoughts:

There are times when the Leafs look out of sync. The gap between the back-end and the forwards looks almost like the length of the CN Tower. Their passes are not crisp and they don’t look tough. This typically coincides with Marner looking like he has a worse case of yips than Kevin Costner in Tin Cup.

As Marner goes, the Leafs go. His teammates have said as much. When he’s on, the rest of the team senses it and are on their game. Over the last five seasons, the Leafs have the fifth best overall record. They have won 65% of their games. That’s a large sample, which means that Marner has been consistently excellent for a long time (note: the top team over that same stretch are the Boston Bruins and the second best are the Tampa Bay Lightning – both teams are in the Atlantic Division with the Leafs).

Marner finished one assist or goal shy of his first 100 point season. The puck runs through him on the power-play. He’s on the top penalty killing unit. He led all forwards ice time and led the entire league in takeaways. He also had the most playoff points for the Leafs, even though the end result was disappointing.

Marner is a top-ten player in the entire league and he keeps improving. The Markham boy should never be allowed to leave his hometown team. He’s a magician who has pulled an ‘A+’ out of this hat.

#10. Auston Matthews

Stats with the Leafs:

Regular Season:

Games Played: 74

Goals: 40

Assists: 45

Playoffs:

Games Played: 11

Goals: 5

Assists: 6

Contract Status:

Signed through 2023-24 at $11,640,250M AAV and through 2027/28 at $13,250,000M AAV.

Overall Thoughts:

Now that Matthews has re-upped for another four years, Leafs fans can get a good night of sleep; and haters can go back to predicting another exit when his contract extension comes close to expiring.

The deal was great for both the player and the organization. Yes, he’s now getting more money per year than any other NHL player, but let’s be frank. Matthews could have gotten way more on the open market. He chose to take less. A great gesture of leadership and it allows the team to add more talent around him once the cap rises next season. He deserves every single dollar of that contract.

When Matthews is healthy, he’s the best overall player in the league.

He’s always the first one back into the Leafs defensive zone and backchecks like he’s on a mission. He wins lots of draws and was the team leader in plus-minus. Everyone talks about his shooting percentage being down, but he still scored 40 goals in 74 games. Matthews never makes excuses for any result, but reports surfaced that he played through a bad wrist injury from the get-go.

Any team would be ecstatic if one of their players netted 40 in 74, but when you are the reigning NHL Most Valuable Player, it seems like the standard is different.

Since playing his first game in 2016, a four tally welcoming party on the road against the Ottawa Senators, Matthews has led the entire league in goals. More than Alexander Ovechkin. More than Connor McDavid.

Perhaps the most impressive stat comes at 5v5, when there is less open ice and tighter checking, during which Matthews also has racked up the highest total with 92. The next closest person, McDavid, has 73.

Oh, and Matthews also led the team with five playoff goals. He would have had more if Bobrovsky didn’t go on an insane, unexpected run of superior goaltending.

Matthews receives a solid ‘A’ for his efforts and there is a sense that his best grade is yet to come.