To celebrate the launch of NHL 25 and the new hockey season the ratings for the Toronto Maple Leafs players. The Leafs have seen a lot of changes, both in personnel and in their player ratings.
Every year since 1991 the EA Sports team has released an NHL video game. Every year, as far as I can remember, people have complained about rosters and player ratings. So, what other way to honour this tradition than to do the exact same, but specifically for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
As someone who has played every year since NHL 06, I thought it would be fun to take a look at this year’s iteration of the Maple Leafs and see how each player is rated and give my thoughts on what I would change, if anything.
I have decided to take it by each position and go over each player in the starting roster from forwards to goalie. I will not be touching on potential unless I feel it is notable.
Forwards
Many have felt that Leafs brass did not do enough to bolster the Maple Leafs forwards but it does not show in the ratings with many players
Auston Matthews - 95
Matthews is undeniably one of the best players in the NHL today and he fittingly has a great rating here. No complaints.
William Nylander - 91
After three straight seasons above 80 points and especially after scoring 40 goals and almost 100 points, Nylander rightfully gets a bump to 91. I always felt he was a little under-appreciated by EA but glad to see him up at 91.
Mitch Marner - 91
Leafs nation’s favourite player to hate, Marner at a 91 feels a little low. He is clearly a better player than Nylander and should be slightly higher. He is consistently on pace for 100+ points while providing some of the best defensive value for a winger in the game. I feel his London Knight’s number 93 is a good rating given his skillset.
John Tavares - 87
As much as it pains me to admit, 87 is probably in the right ballpark given his slight decline last year. He is still undoubtedly a great player but is past his prime now.
Max Domi - 85
85 is probably slightly too high given his skillset. He is not good defensively and although he seemed to mesh quite well in the Leafs’ top-nine he was a sub-50 point scorer but he does have some bit. I feel a more appropriate rating would be an 83-84.
Matthew Knies - 84
This seems fair if not a tad high, he scored only 35 points and does have a nice powerforward game with some good puckskills which undoubtedly helps his rating. I would personally put him at an 82-83 but he could earn this rating by season’s end.
Calle Jarnkrok - 82
This seems about right given the same size of him being a 35-40 point player for most of his career while playing a forechecking role. His versatility also needs to be taken into account but 82 seems fair and I would even say an 81 would be adequate as well.
Nick Robertson - 82
The contract stalemate ended and the trade request is rescinded... For now. This is a good rating, despite what many seem to think Robertson should be able to rack up points consistently in the NHL and I’d suspect him to be at least a 40-50 point guy throughout his prime if given the right opportunity. Even last season in limited usage was on pace for 20+ goals and roughly 40 points over an entire year. The only major complaint is that EA still has him listed as a center.
David Kampf - 82
Although Kampf is utilized as a shutdown center against good competition, which I think merits a decent overall in and of itself, his production is quite poor having never hit 30 points. I think an 80-81 overall suits him more but an 82 is not bad if his defensive and physical game is what makes up the bulk of this.
Pontus Holmberg - 80
This seems fair, Holmberg is a legitimate NHLer and although his production has not shown it, his utility as a center/wing with his forechecking ability and defensive game makes this rating seem fair. The only issue I have is that they list him as a “playmaker” but I would make him a “two-way forward”.
Connor Dewar - 79
79 is about where I’d put Dewar as a guy who has been a strict 4th line forward who is yet to pace 20 points in his career. His speed, forechecking, and defensive game are really his only strong attributes at this time.
Bobby McMann - 78
I think this is too low. He scored at a similar rate to Robertson last year and has shown some ability to play up the lineup. I would put him at 80-81 personally.
Ryan Reaves - 76
This is fair as a player who’s main attributes are intangibles and his enforcer style.