Toronto Maple Leafs Mid-Season Player Grades and Analysis
After a strong first half that has the Toronto Maple Leafs sitting in a playoff spot, a number of players received solid mid-season grades.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have put together a strong first half of the season and find themselves right in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race with a 20-13-8 record.
After finishing dead last a year ago, expectations weren’t high entering this season, but the Leafs terrific first half has fans optimistic about what lies ahead.
With the team officially at the halfway mark of the season, Chris Okrainetz, Jake Middleton and Dave Morassutti hand out their mid-season grades for each player.
Forwards:
C. Toronto Maple Leafs. TYLER BOZAK. C+. I have actually been really disappointed in <strong><a rel=
B+. After starting the season as a bottom six forward, <strong><a rel=. RW. Toronto Maple Leafs. CONNOR BROWN
C-. <strong><a rel=. C. Toronto Maple Leafs. FREDERIK GAUTHIER
ZACH HYMAN. B+. Playing next to Matthews, <strong><a rel=. LW. Toronto Maple Leafs
A-. Despite facing the opposing team’s top line each game, <strong><a rel=. C. Toronto Maple Leafs. NAZEM KADRI
B. <strong><a rel=. LW. Toronto Maple Leafs. LEO KOMAROV
D+. <strong><a rel=. LW. Toronto Maple Leafs. JOSH LEIVO
MITCH MARNER. A. Simply put, Mitch Marner has been absolutely fantastic for the Maple Leafs this season. Potentially in the running for team MVP with Auston Matthews and Frederik Anderson, nobody, including myself specifically, could have expected Mitch to not only make the Leafs out of training camp and play the entire season with them. But to be the focal point of one of the most prolific offences in the NHL and single-handedly lift the Leafs second line into an elite level scoring line is nothing short of incredible. <p>Marner has destroyed any concerns of size or strength being an issue by chipping in 10 goals and a team-leading 25 assists for 35 points. Marner is a major reason for the career season being put forth by <strong><a rel=. RW. Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs. MATT MARTIN. C-. A mentor off the ice and a protector on the ice, <strong><a rel=. LW
AUSTON MATTHEWS. A+. We all knew Auston Matthews was going to be a great player, but my goodness, I don’t think anyone thought he would start the season off like this! At 19 years old, Matthews is easily the Leafs best player and he’s on pace to score over 40 goals, which would be a new Leafs rookie record. I could go on and on about how great Matthews is, but we’ll save that for another time. He’s an all-around A+. – Chris Okrainetz. C. Toronto Maple Leafs
A-. <strong><a rel=. RW. Toronto Maple Leafs. WILLIAM NYLANDER
Toronto Maple Leafs. BEN SMITH. D+. Pretty much just a face-off specialist who can kill penalties, <strong><a rel=. C
C. Stuck on the fourth line, it’s tough to give <strong><a rel=. RW. Toronto Maple Leafs. NIKITA SOSHNIKOV
A-. Following an extremely disappointing injury riddled season, I didn’t know how JVR would recover from a severe foot injury that ended his season after only 40 games. Would he have lost a step from the injury? Or would he pick up where he left off alongside some younger talent that had been injected into the Leafs lineup? Well, luckily for Leafs fans it was the latter rather than the former and JVR has slid right into the Leafs top-six and thrived next to young superstar Mitch Marner. <p>JVR looks like the player he was when the Leafs made their run to the playoffs alongside <strong><a rel=. LW. Toronto Maple Leafs. JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK