TORONTO — Just imagine where the Toronto Maple Leafs might be without the individual and team performances of Mitchell Marner, William Nylander, and Mark Giordano.
And with the team’s offensive juggernaut known as Auston Matthews only recently finding his game, it would be a much different season for the Toronto Maple Leafs without them.
Marner, Nylander, and Giordano have all stepped up and elevated their game, carrying most of the team’s workload this season.
Marner, “The Magician”
If the NHL season ended today, there wouldn’t be much of an argument about who has been the most consistent Maple Leafs’ forward.
Breaking team records and setting the new standard through a historic first half of the year, Marner has continued to make the case for why he should be considered, at least for now, the team’s most valuable player.
After breaking Darryl Sittler’s long-time consecutive game point streak record earlier this season, Marner recently broke the Maple Leafs’ home record for consecutive points at 19 games.
The 25-year-old winger has registered at least one point in all but one home game this season.
With 55 points (17-38-55) in 46 games played, Marner is on pace to match his last season’s offensive totals. He does, however, have two additional penalty minutes to this point this season than he did all last year and is on pace for the most penalty minutes of his career since his rookie season.
Willy, “The Wizard”
If anyone on the Maple Leafs was going to give Marner a run for most entertaining player of the season, it’d be Nylander.
Averaging a point per game since the start of 2023, Nylander is on pace for the second-best offensive season of his career. If he can continue producing at this level, surpassing last season’s career high 80 points isn’t out the question.
Nylander’s overall shooting percentage has gone up to 14.8 per cent, which is an increase from the last two seasons. His career high is 15.7 per cent.
His 11 powerplay assists are good for third highest of his career.
Marky-Mark’s hometown discount
When the Maple Leafs announced this veteran defenceman had signed a two-year, $1.6 million (U.S.) extension back in May 2022, it’s tough to imagine Giordano knew how important his role would be.
With the number of injuries the Maple Leafs have sustained this season to their defence core, it’s impressive how the 38-year-old has managed to remain one of their few healthy D-men.
Averaging 19:34 minutes of time on ice this season, it’s the most he’s been asked to average during his Maple Leafs’ tenure, but nowhere near his 2013-14 season average of 25:14.
He isn’t averaging the most ice time for Leafs’ defencemen this season either; that title belongs to Morgan Rielly, who’s averaging 22:31 of ice-time each game. With 15 points (2-13-15) and a plus/minus of +18 on the season, Giordano is on pace to match last season’s scoring totals – tough to argue that he isn’t having a stand-out season.
Honourable mention
As previously mentioned, last season’s Hart Trophy winner is finally getting hot and getting that scoring touch back from last season.
Matthews has nine points through his first seven games of 2023 and is starting to look like the MVP calibre player from the second half of last season. Last season, he scored eight points (5-3-8) in his first seven games of the new year.
Having scored 73 points (40-33-73) in 46 games to finish last season, the possibility of Matthews exploding offensively for the rest of this season remains very real. He currently has 24 goals and 27 assists in 44 games played.
And while he may not catch Edmonton Oilers’ captain Connor McDavid in points by season’s end, Matthews still has to look at elevating his personal game, along with the game of his teammates.
If the trio of Marner, Nylander, and Giordano can continue this outstanding play, combined with the likes of Rielly and Matthews, the Toronto Maple Leafs may be looking at finally winning a playoff round – their first since 2004.
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