The Toronto Maple Leafs have now played half of their 2023–24 season. Their record is 21-12-8 for 50 points, and they currently sit third in the Atlantic Division and 11th in the league.
The Maple Leafs have been very good at times but also very confusing. The team isn’t bad by any means; they are an elite team in the NHL. However, they aren’t necessarily playing like that. They struggle in different areas, such as defence or killing penalties, which have cost them leads and games. The Maple Leafs look to be on the road to making the playoffs, which means in the next 41 games, they need to fix the issues that have been ailing them. For now, though, we will reflect on stories that have happened so far in the 2023-24 season for Toronto.
Emergence of Woll & Goalie Inconsistency
It’s the tail of two stories, but unfortunately, it has dominated the news outlets around the team all season. At first, it was the emergence of young Joseph Woll and how he stole the crease from Ilya Samsonov. Heck, at this time, Martin Jones was just insurance for the club and was playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). Woll is recovering from a high ankle sprain, Samsonov found himself in the AHL for a week to “reset,” and Jones has helped stabilize things between the pipes. It has been a complete 360, but the Maple Leafs still find themselves in a playoff spot and can thank Jones for his strong play.
Related: Ilya Samsonov Returning to Maple Leafs’ Net vs. Red Wings
Ironically, Jones and Woll have some of the best goalie statistics in the NHL. Jones has played in 14 games and has a record of 8-4-1 along with a 2.30 goals-against average (GAA) and a .924 save percentage (SV%). As for Woll, before he was injured, he had played in 15 games and had a record of 8-5-1 with a 2.80 GAA and a .916 SV%. These are very good stats for goalies, especially for the salaries the Maple Leafs pay these two ($875,000 and $766,667, respectively).
Unfortunately, when you add on the tough season that Samsonov has had, the Maple Leafs slide down the list of team goaltending stats. He has appeared in 16 games and has a record of 5-3-6, accompanied by a 3.88 GAA and a .863 SV%. As a result, they find themselves in 20th in the NHL in GAA with a combined 3.23 and 19th in SV% with a combined .902.
Marner, Rielly & Nylander’s All-Star Seasons
Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly, and William Nylander have been outstanding this season. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about Auston Matthews; he will be in the next section. For now, let’s talk about three of the four All-Stars for the Maple Leafs this season. Firstly, Nylander has had a career year this season. He leads the Maple Leafs in points with 57 in 40 games. He also finds himself first in assists with 36 and second in goals with 21. He also had a 17-game point streak to start the season, which set a franchise record. During that streak, he had 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points, including being the hometown hero on the team trip to Sweden earlier this season. Nylander has capped off the first half of the season by being voted into the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, which will be his first All-Star appearance, as well as signing an eight-year, $92 million extension with the Maple Leafs.
The aforementioned Marner has also been great as of late. He started a bit slow but has since turned it up and has been on another level in the last few weeks. He has 18 goals and 28 assists for 46 points. In the 41st game of the season against the Detroit Red Wings, he notched his 600th career point in 548 games. This makes him the fastest to reach 600 career points in the team’s history.
Marner has had a very unique role on the team for the last few years; he seems to be the “glue guy.” Whenever head coach Sheldon Keefe needs to get a line going, it seems like he almost always puts Marner out and the group finds chemistry. It has happened with both the Matthews line and the John Tavares line this season, and both times the lines appear to click and find the back of the net. He is a very important part of the Maple Leafs’ success, so if the club wants to go far in the playoffs, he needs to continue playing with the confidence that he has now, and he can’t waver from it.
Related: Maple Leafs Strategically Sign Kieffer Bellows
Lastly, Rielly, the longest-serving Maple Leafs player, has finally been named an NHL All-Star. He has been incredible this season for his team. He has played nearly 1,000 minutes and just drew his first penalty against the Red Wings in game 41. The unfortunate part about it was that it was Nylander who got his stick in the Red Wings player’s hands, but Rielly was sent to the box. It effectively ended his streak at 988:05 without being called for a penalty, which is a very impressive streak. He currently sits tied for fourth with Tavares on the team in points with six goals and 28 assists for 34 points in 41 games.
Matthews is Back
The former 60-goal scorer is back. Matthews has returned to his old form and has been putting on a clinic. He currently has 33 goals in 39 games, which puts him on pace for 69 goals over the 82-game season. He could be the first NHL player since 1992-93 to score 70 in a season. Alex Mogilny and Teemu Selanne were the last players to do so when they both had 76 goals in the 1992-93 season. Last season has proven to be a down year or a year full of injuries because he was only able to score 40 goals, which is nothing to sneeze at. Along with his 33 goals, he also has 15 assists for 48 points in 41 games.
Unfortunately, when you score 60 and then follow that up with 40, you will be the victim of harsh criticism, as Matthews was. However, this season, he has come out on a tear, starting with back-to-back hat tricks in his first two games, and has been lighting the lamp ever since. He has put himself back in the conversation for the Hart Trophy with his performance so far this season, and is also the front-runner to win the Rocket Richard Trophy, as he leads the NHL in the goal department. He has been chosen as the Maple Leafs’ representative for the 2024 All-Star Game in Toronto, and he will be joined by three of his teammates.
Now that we are at the halfway mark of the season, the Maple Leafs are seven points behind where they were last season. Which could be the difference between second or third place in the Atlantic Division or even the top wild-card spot. Only time will tell where they finish, but what we know now is that the Maple Leafs came out of the California trip looking for their fifth straight win. Now, they are on a three-game losing streak, all of which stems from blowing leads. This is something that Keefe and his staff need to address as soon as possible.
