It may be hard to believe, but the first month of the 2023-24 season is already over. The Toronto Maple Leafs had a decent October, as they sport a 5-3-1 record and are tied for fourth place with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division. Overall, they have had some excellent moments but also some truly rough ones. Yet, this is to be expected during the early stages of a season as players shake off their early-season rust. However, which of the Maple Leafs’ players made the most significant impact this month? Let’s discuss their top five stars now.
No. 5 – Morgan Rielly
It has been a nice start to the season for Morgan Rielly, so he warrants the No. 5 spot. After an up-and-down 2022-23 season, Rielly once again looks like a legitimate number-one defenseman this campaign. In nine games this past month, the 2012 fifth-overall pick had two goals, seven points, and a plus-3 rating.
Overall, Rielly has provided good offence from the point and has also been steady for the most part with his defence. If he can continue to put up months like these, it will be a very good season for the Vancouver native.
No. 4 – Auston Matthews
Auston Matthews had a pretty eventful first month of the season. He started the season off with a bang, posting back-to-back hat tricks in the Maple Leafs’ first two games. However, he also immediately cooled off after those strong performances, going pointless and sporting a minus-4 rating in his next three games. He then ended the month with a goal and four points in his final four games, so he made up for his brief rough stretch of play, at least from a production standpoint.
Ultimately, it ended up being a strong month for Matthews. In nine games, the 26-year-old center had seven goals to go along with 10 points. However, when noting that he did cool off for a decent chunk of it, the No. 4 spot seems just right for the superstar.
No. 3 – Joseph Woll
While Ilya Samsonov has struggled mightily out of the gate, fellow Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll has been excellent. In five appearances in October, the 25-year-old netminder put together a 3-2-0 record, a 1.89 goals-against average (GAA), and a .942 save percentage (SV%). It is hard not to love seeing this kind of play from the rookie, so he certainly warrants the third spot on this list.
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After his very hot start to the season, Woll is now receiving real consideration to be the Maple Leafs’ starting goalie moving forward. If he continues to play this well and Samsonov does not pick up his play, it would be shocking if they do not give Woll the net. Overall, this was a great first month of the season for him, and we will need to wait and see what he does in November.
No. 2 – John Tavares
Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was easily one of the club’s top players in October. The 33-year-old center started the season with a seven-game point streak and got on the scoresheet in eight out of nine games. Due to this, he is currently second on the team with 12 points in nine games. With that, he has been finding the back of the net well, as he is third on the team in goals with five.
It’s been a truly outstanding start for Tavares, and if he keeps this kind of play up moving forward, this could end up being one of his best NHL seasons. Thus, he is easily my No. 2 pick for this list.
No. 1 – William Nylander
While Tavares was spectacular for the Maple Leafs in October, William Nylander takes the cake as the Maple Leafs’ top player of the month. The 27-year-old star winger has been the model of consistency thus far, as he set a new Maple Leafs record with his season-opening nine-game point streak. Over that span, he has six goals to go along with a team-leading 13 points. That is simply outstanding stuff.
Given the fact that Nylander leads the team in points, has been their most consistent player, and has set a new franchise record, he was easily their MVP for the month of October. Let’s see what the pending unrestricted free agent does for an encore in November from here.
Overall, it was an eventful first month for the Maple Leafs. Although they were not perfect, they are still in a good position to start the campaign, and a lot of their success is because of these five players. It will now be intriguing to see who steps up in November.
