3 Toronto Maple Leafs breakout players to watch for in 2024-25
Which Maple Leafs players could be in for a huge year for this upcoming 2024-25 NHL season?
As the Toronto Maple Leafs preseason wrapped up with a solid 3-2 win over their division rivals Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night, they can all now turn their focus and attention to the upcoming 2024-25 NHL season.
Over the course of the past couple of weeks in training camp, the Toronto Maple Leafs have more or less gotten a good feel of the current group of core players that they will be moving ahead with for this year.
With a good mixture of new faces, young and promising prospects, along with key returning star players and veterans, the Leafs certainly appear to be ready and set for yet another hopeful Stanley Cup run.
But among the group, there has been a select few that seemed to be gearing towards a potentially huge breakout for the upcoming season.
In doing so, they could actually end up becoming important difference makers for the team over the course of 2024-25 to put them over the top once and for all.
As a result, let’s take a closer look at three promising candidates from the current Maple Leafs roster that seemed destined for a big year ahead.
3 Toronto Maple Leafs breakout players to watch for in 2024-25
Matthew Knies
Last year, Matthew Knies put together a solid rookie season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Spending the majority of his ice time at even strength with the likes of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner on the top line in 2023-24, Knies finished with 15 goals, 20 assists for 35 points in 80 games played. He also spent some time on the Leafs second power play unit, recording two assists with the man advantage and getting valuable playing experience in the role as well.
In addition, Knies appears to be a big-game player during the playoffs. In 14 career playoff games, he has recorded 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points. More importantly, he helped set up John Tavares’ overtime winner on a nifty play against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023 to help the Leafs finally get past the first round.
On top of that, Knies became the hero himself, scoring the overtime winner against the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of the first round last season to keep the Leafs playoff hopes alive at the time.
Ahead of the 2024-25 season, Knies has had a solid training camp in which he recorded 1 goal, 2 assists along with 10 shots on goal over four preseason games.
Together with having one year of NHL experience under belt, he seems hungry and all geared up for a breakout year ahead. If the Leafs were smart, they may want to get in the extension with Knies as soon as possible before it is too late.
Anthony Stolarz
As predominantly a backup for the majority of his NHL career, Anthony Stolarz had played in the shadows of many elite goaltenders, including most recently behind Sergei Bobrovsky with the Florida Panthers.
Despite that, Stolarz has quietly put up some solid numbers over the years. In 108 total games, he has posted a tidy 43-31-9 record with a 2.68 GAA and .915 save percentage. In fact, those numbers have been so impressive that it could make him actually a quality starter in the NHL.
Last season, Stolarz played a key role in teaming up with Bobrovsky to help the Panthers finish first in the Atlantic Division. In the end, he even got the distinguished opportunity to hoist the Cup for the first time ever in his career. Nevertheless, Stolarz would still crave at the chance of becoming a starting goaltender in the league.
Well, he may just get that opportunity now with the Maple Leafs for the 2024-25 season. So far this preseason, Stolarz had looked fantastic manning the crease, stopping 54 of the 56 shots that he has faced over three games.
That included posting a 30-save shutout against the Red Wings on October 3. He may be starting the year working in tandem with Joseph Woll in the Leafs net. But if he can continue to consistently post the numbers that he has throughout his career, it will be only a matter of time before Stolarz will break out to win the crease and finally show that he can also be a number one goalie in the NHL.
Nick Robertson
Finally, the Nick Robertson we have all been waiting for may have finally arrived. After struggling with unfortunate injuries and playing time during his first few seasons with the Maple Leafs, Robertson finally received a more regular role during the 2023-24 season. In the 56 games that he appeared in, he recorded 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points.
Despite the increase in production, Robertson still expressed some displeasure with his role and playing time with the team and apparently asked for a trade during the past offseason.
However, after getting the reassurance from head coach Craig Berube that he will be given all the opportunity to show what he can do, Robertson ultimately was back with Toronto on a one-year deal. (All stats from NHL.com)
In retrospect, that is turning out to be a great move for both Robertson and the Leafs. That is because Robertson has been on fire the past couple of weeks.
As one of the Leafs best players during training camp, he has put up 5 goals on 11 shots over four games played. More importantly, three of the goals were game-winners, helping Toronto to their impressive 4-1-1 mark for the preseason.
Robertson is definitely thriving under Berube’s new system and is now poised for a huge year ahead.
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As a result, keeping Robertson may turn out to be one of the Leafs best moves this past offseason as they could have the potential breakout player of the year on their hands.