3 Toronto Maple Leafs to Target Late in Fantasy Hockey
With fantasy hockey starting up once again, here are three Toronto Maple Leafs players to target late in your drafts.
The top-end of the Toronto Maple Leafs are a fantasy hockey gold mine.
The likes of Toronto Maple Leafs superstars Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander will go in the first few rounds of any draft, with John Tavares and Morgan Rielly sure to follow not far after.
It's no secret this team is fairly top heavy, and in smaller leagues (six teams or less), these five may be the only Toronto Maple Leafs drafted at all. However, for those who are in much bigger leagues and need some late-round players to add to their fantasy team, the Leafs have some good options available for the taking.
Here are three Leafs players to target late in your fantasy hockey drafts.
3 Toronto Maple Leafs to Target Late in Fantasy Hockey
1. Joseph Woll/Anthony Stolarz
To save room for other players, I am going to put both of the Leafs top goalies on this list in the same spot. Neither one has much of an inside track on the other, though I'd give the slight edge to Woll if I had to pick between the two.
Woll has shown flashes of being a superstar goaltender in the NHL, almost singlehandedly winning the Leafs a playoff round last year. But injuries have prevented him from playing more than 34 games in a single year (at any level), and even kept him out of a crucial game 7 last season vs the Boston Bruins. The potential is definitely there, he just needs to stay healthy.
Stolarz on the other hand, as been a fairly reliable backup since entering the league in 2016-17, even posting the second-best GAA and SV% of any goalie in the NHL last season among goalies who played at least 20 games.
Stolarz is in a similar spot to Woll, however, has both have shown they can play with the best of the best when on their game, but neither have been able to keep it up for an entire season.
Both are great picks for your team in the later rounds of your draft and will round out your goaltending quite nicely. Once the big names of Hellebuyck, Saros, Swayman and whoever else are gone, these two will be good additions to anyone's roster in the late parts of your draft, even with the small risk that comes with drafting either one of them.
2. Matthew Knies
After a full season in the NHL and two-straight solid playoff performances, the soon-to-be 22-year-old is sure to break out this season.
Some may say he disappointed last season, and sure, 35 points while playing with Matthews and Marner for a good chunk of the season may seem low on paper. But Knies still scored 15 goals and 20 assists with limited power-play time, a revolving door of linemates for most of the year, and as a 21-year-old rookie.
A 20-goal, 50-point season is not out of the question for Knies, and he's the perfect late-round selection in a deeper fantasy league.
3. Max Domi
The guy on this list that I have the most confidence in is by far Max Domi. After being one of the Leafs best players in last year's playoffs, Domi may have earned himself a top-line role this upcoming season.
Near the end of last year and into the playoffs, Domi developed strong chemistry with Auston Matthews, and new coach Craig Berube will more than likely start those two on the same line this season.
A 60-point season, maybe even 70, is not out of the question for Domi at all.
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No matter how the Leafs end up doing this year, their team is going to be very entertaining to watch, and the players listed above will have a big part in this team's success.