It’s the holiday season and with Christmas quickly approaching, Santa Claus is coming to town! Santa has been hard at work throughout the year, making a list and is in the process of checking it twice. Everyone is hoping that they made the nice list, because you know what happens when you’re on the naughty list.
The same can be said for the players on the Toronto Maple Leafs. There’s plenty to be happy about this season. Auston Matthews is giving the gift of scoring goals as he’s already at 18, Mitch Marner is being unselfish with his playmaking and John Tavares continues to be humble and generous on and off the ice.
While they’re probably on Santa’s nice list, here are the top three players that stand out on both the naughty and nice list for the Maple Leafs this season.
The Nice List
William Nylander
The Maple Leafs most consistent point producer and team leader with 32 points in 24 games, William Nylander has definitely been good this season. Especially since he had a 17-game point streak and is proving himself in a contract year.
Nylander currently ranks 12th in points in the league and over an 82-game pace, he is currently on the path to establishing career highs in goals (45), assists (64) and points (109). This season alone has made him an elite-level winger that can be a consistent threat offensively but has even shown improvements in his defensive game as well. Nylander has been a consistent factor when it comes to potential goals and scoring chances. At five-on-five with a minimum of 150 min. played on the team, he has the third-best expected goals for a percentage of 55.77 and the second-best scoring chances for of 58.19%.
The way that he’s producing this season and taking pressure off Matthews and Marner at times, Nylander has definitely shown that he can rise up and put-up results for his team.
Joseph Woll
Whether it’s his smile on and off the ice, signing bricks for fans, having a great personality or being a kid at heart and showing his love for Lego, Joseph Woll is definitely on the nice list. Whenever his team needed him, he has stood tall and has helped them out quite a bit. (from ‘Behind Joseph Woll’s journey to the Maple Leafs: ‘Not the stereotypical hockey player’, The Athletic NHL – 07/12/23)
Woll has been fantastic in overtaking the starter role for the Maple Leafs and has improved as the season went on. So far, he has an 8-5-1 record along with a 2.80 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. His play alone has him with some of the best goalies in the league. With a minimum of 300 min. played, his 6.20 goals saved above average has him in the top-10 at all strengths and his .841 high danger SV% has him at 16th overall. It’s easy to see why there’s so much potential with him and should be talked about more in regard to the Calder Trophy race.
Related: Dear Santa: Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2023-24 Wish List
While he sustained an injury in a game against the Ottawa Senators, it was his best performance, coming through to push his team forward when they weren’t at their best. Woll has stood tall when he’s been in net and it’s a big reason why he’s on the nice list.
Morgan Rielly
The Maple Leafs’ best defender by a mile, Morgan Rielly has carried the blueline on his back right when the season started. Even with all the injuries to their blue line, he has been dominant, carrying a heavy work load on both sides of the puck.
Rielly’s a leader on this team for a reason and we’re seeing it first-hand. After a season where he was inconsistent offensively and dealt with an injury, playoff Rielly has carried over into this season. He’s 17th overall in points among defenders with 18 and is tied for eighth with 14 even strength points. He averages 25:08 of ice time per game and isn’t affected by it at all. He has handled the minutes very well and shows it from game to game. He’s more responsible defensively defending against the rush and within his own zone.
The team’s top defender deserves to be on the nice list for his contributions this season.
The Naughty List
Ryan Reaves
Ryan Reaves was brought in to give more of a personality on and off the ice along with the grit and physical presence to make the Maple Leafs tougher. While he may be doing a great job of providing a great locker room presence, his on-ice play has been extremely underwhelming.
The offense that Reaves brings wasn’t going to be evident as he only has one goal in 19 games. While he’s third in hits with 41, he hasn’t been aggressive as many had hoped. Even when a message does need to be sent, he’s quiet or isn’t on the ice to send that message if something does happen. The tough play that he’s supposed to bring has either been inconsistent or non-existent at times.
Related: Maple Leafs’ Woll Injury Gives Samsonov Chance to Prove Himself
Not only that he only averages the least amount of ice time per game for the Maple Leafs with 7:36 and his on-ice impact is non-existent with an xGF% of 38.79, the fourth lowest on the team. It’s kind of ironic that Reaves is on the naughty list seeing as he isn’t being as naughty as he needs to be on the ice.
John Klingberg
It doesn’t feel right to have John Klingberg here, considering he’s done for the season and needs hip surgery. While it’s unfortunate, playing through an injury isn’t exactly the best thing for a player to do. Ever since the game against the Florida Panthers in October, he hasn’t been the same. Even before that, his play didn’t sit right with many as he wasn’t living up to his contract.
The signing came with risks and his lack of awareness and defensive game was more noticeable than the offensive impact that he had. Even then, it wasn’t that impactful. He has five assists in 14 games, but all of them came in the first six games of the season and went pointless in the eight games after that. Defensively, it was tough to watch Klingberg as he was hemmed in his own zone often, being on for 14 5-on-5 goals against and 10 high danger goals against.
It’s unfortunate that Klingberg was hoping for a bounce back season and to try to find some consistency. Unfortunately, that may have to wait for next season.
Ilya Samsonov
While it’s not for a lack of trying and putting in the work to be on the nice list, Ilya Samsonov’s start to this season was less than ideal considering 2022-23 was his best season. He went 27-10-5 with a 2.33 GAA and a .919 SV%. The 2023-24 season has been full of weak goals and inconsistent outings.
Samsonov has acknowledged that it has been a very difficult season, both in regards to his play and with his mentality. He’s 5-1-3, but has an .886 SV% and a 3.21 GAA, not the kind of numbers you expected. He knows that he is better than this considering what he’s capable of showing when he’s dialled in. However, the good thing is that Samsonov has continued to put in the work to bounce back and show that he can still be a reliable back stop for the Maple Leafs.
It seems like things are on the right track as he recorded an 18-save shutout in a 4-0 win against the Nashville Predators. With Woll sidelined, this could be a sign that Samsonov could quickly find his way off of this list.
Who is on your Naughty/ Nice List? Have your say in the comment section. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Statistic from Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and NHL.
