Who Are the Toronto Maple Leafs Playoff Stat Leaders Since 2020?
Has it been all Matthews for the Maple Leafs?
Since the turn of the decade, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been led by the core four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander in helping them to their success in reaching the playoffs each year.
In doing so, the elite numbers they have put up no doubt ranks them among the Toronto Maple Leafs team leaders in various statistical categories during the regular season.
But when it comes to the NHL playoffs, with the game being more intense and hostile, which players statistically have actually been leading the way?
Here, we will take a look at the top leaders of various playoff stat categories for the Maple Leafs since 2020 (stats are as of April 23, 2024). In some cases, the leader may come as a surprise to some, whereas in other instances, it is just what many have expected.
Who Are the Toronto Maple Leafs Playoff Stat Leaders Since 2020?
Goals
When it comes to the leader for the Leafs in playoff goals, practically the first player to come to mind for almost everyone would be Matthews. After all, being the most prolific goal scorer on the team, choosing Number 34 is a no-brainer right?
Surprisingly, it actually isn’t Matthews but Nylander on top instead with 14 goals. Although Matthews just trails slightly behind in second with 13. So Nylander has certainly flown under the radar to contribute some key goals to the Leafs recent playoff runs.
Assists
In terms of assists, is there ever any doubt that the one leading the way has been Mitch Marner? With a whopping 25 helpers, Marner has always had the knack of being able to find a way to get the puck to his teammates no matter where they are on the ice.
On the other hand, it may be more startling to see Matthews actually close in second with 21 assists. Despite known mainly for his lethal shot, Matthews has shown time and time again that he too can be an elite distributor in setting up key goals in key situations as well.
Points
For the Leafs playoff points leader, Matthews finally finds himself on top with 34 points in 32 games played in total, making him the only one on the team to average more than a point a game in the playoffs since 2020.
It proves once again why he is a game-changer for Toronto whenever the postseason rolls around. Trailing just slightly behind by four points is Marner with 30. Despite many believing that he cannot handle as much of the toughness and tight checking in the playoffs, Marner has proven some of his doubters wrong as he can rise to the occasion and still produce the way he has throughout the regular season.
Penalty Minutes
For this category, it may be either a good or bad thing that two of the top three leaders in penalty minutes are now no longer with the Maple Leafs anymore.
Pierre Engvall, who is now helping the New York Islanders in their quest for the Cup this year, leads with a total of 26 PIM, with the beloved Justin Holl in third with 23 PIM.
So either the Leafs are severely missing their toughness, or they took too many bad penalties back then so they are probably better off without them. As a result, it makes Morgan Rielly of all people and his 25 PIM now the current active leader for the Leafs since 2020.
Power Play Points
With the Leafs often struggling with the man advantage once playoff time hits, the dynamic duo of Matthews and Marner still manage to lead the charge the past four years and counting with 11 power play points apiece.
Nylander comes in right behind them with 8 power play points, so one can see having him back in the lineup could potentially be a huge difference maker for the Leafs, since he also already leads the team in playoff goals.
Shorthanded Points
With the Leafs known for their “power kill” in recent years where they often generated legitimate scoring chances while a man short, it has hardly materialized come playoff time as they usually struggled on the overall penalty kill instead.
As a result, the leader in shorthanded points with 2 is the departed Alex Kerfoot, with only Marner, David Kampf and T.J. Brodie as the only current Leafs to have registered a short handed point since 2020. Perhaps if they can do some more damage on the kill, it could help keep their opponents on their toes and tilt the ice more in their favour going forward.
Shots on Goal
Without a doubt anyone could probably come up with this answer. By far, Matthews has been the leader by a wide margin, peppering a whopping 153 shots on net in just 32 games played.
Nylander comes in at a distant second with 101 shots on goal, but has been more successful than Matthews in converting them into goals with a shooting percentage close to 14%. If Matthews can start converting at that rate too, watch out!
Game-Winning Goals
Finally, there’s no one more clutch for the Leafs in the past few years than Matthews himself. Already ranked third among the all-time Leafs in game-winning goals during the regular season with 61, Matthews has produced five game winners since 2020, including the big one just recently to help the Leafs pull even 1-1 in the series against the Boston Bruins.
If Toronto were to continue to have success in the playoffs, Matthews will definitely be there to play a huge part in it. (All stats from NHL.com)
Hopefully, the Leafs overall can continue to improve on those statistical numbers this postseason and become a strong contender for the Stanley Cup as a result.