Toronto Maple Leafs Fantasy Hockey Spotlight - Part 2 | In-Depth Analysis on Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and More

Today in part two of this team spotlight on the Toronto Maple Leafs, we’ll take a look at the players that will impact your roster - because of good or bad stretches, there is a lot of depth that will help you win matchups. This is more geared towards the more savvy fantasy manager full of nerdy stats to really break down where these players are, to give you a better understanding of their trends.

If you read my article from yesterday, then you are familiar with the recent struggles of the Maple Leafs, despite having a star-studded cast of elite players. As promised, today we are going to break down each one and how they could benefit you and earn a spot on your roster.

That said, the Maple Leafs were able to sneak in a win in overtime last night against the New Jersey Devils, big thanks in part to the “core four” as all four goals from the Leafs came from this group, in the return of last year’s coach Sheldon Keefe.

The “Franchise”

Auston Matthews is the franchise player, and an absolute must keep in fantasy. He typically goes top 3-5 in most redrafts, and has a 99-100% roster rate in all leagues and platforms. He has won the Rocket Richard trophy three out of the last four years, and had 69 goals last year.

Unfortunately, he is on a down year. Papi has 17 goals, 17 assists, 11 powerplay points, and 121 shots on goal in 31 games. Wait a second, in 31 games? Yes, he has had a lingering injury this year that had him fly to Germany for some top secret medical treatment and has not been himself all year. His health is spotty at best, but he has managed to add to his peripherals - 20 hits and 41 blocked shots.

Matthews is still amongst the best players in the NHL without question, and despite Alex Ovechkin nearing Wayne Gretzky’s record for most goals of all time, he is considered the most prolific goal scorer of, at least our generation, and at most, of all time.

Year over year, Matthews is going to produce for you and will continue to get elite deployment on a winning team. Yes, the Maple Leafs continue to choke every playoffs, but luckily it's the regular season success that matters in your fantasy league - and they continue to shine in this timeframe.

Papi is an absolute must roster in every league. He is the cornerstone to the franchise, and is the best player among the “core four”. With last night’s win against the Devils, he was the sixth Maple Leaf to reach 700 NHL points.

The “Elite”

Mitch Marner is next up. One of the best and most consistent playmakers in the league. He is easily keeper status, and would be the best player on half the teams in the league. He also is tied to Papi’s hip as they are always on a line together.

This season Marner has put up 14 goals, 48 assists, 22 powerplay points, and 109 shots on goal. His peripherals are also decent all things considered with 27 hits, and 21 blocked shots.

Marner is not only on the top forward line, and the top powerplay line, but also sees consistent time on the penalty kill and has one short-handed point. Also of note, he has a hat trick this year.

It should be noted he leads the Maple Leafs in both points, assists, and powerplay points. This is huge if you are in a points league, but he easily holds his own in every other type of fantasy league, too!

As mentioned in my January 7 article, Marner is a perennial point per game player and one of the best playmakers in the league and has been just shy of 100 points three times already. He continues to be on pace to smash 100 points this year, despite the slumping Maple Leafs and the often absent Matthews.

William Nylander is an absolute stud. Twice he has had the fanbase turn on him for contract negotiations, and twice he has proven the haters wrong. He could arguably be the most consistent Maple Leaf and has put the team on his back several times over the past couple seasons. He is another keeper and no matter how hot or cold he gets, the long term return is well worth it.

Will Ny the Hockey Guy has a team-leading 26 goals, while also putting up 21 assists, 20 powerplay points, and 150 shots on goal. His peripherals aren’t great, so it’s good he puts up at least a point a game on average.

Often relegated to the second forward line, and sometimes having to run the second powerplay unit, neither of these stop or slow down his point production. Over the past three seasons, he has put up 80, 87, and 98 points respectively.

Willy is another keeper candidate and his point per game plus average and his elite deployment on a winning team make his fantasy value hover amongst the top players in the league.

John Tavares brings up the rear for the “core four”. The former captain was unfortunately injured in a spill with defender Chris Tanev in yesterday’s practice and has been placed on injured reserve and is considered week to week.

This doesn’t take away from the resurgence season he has been playing this year. In 44 games, Tavares has put up 20 goals, 22 assists, nine powerplay points, and 250 shots on goal. He is also the solidified second line centre and generally always has Nylander on his wing, and has undisputed top line powerplay time.

While not a spring chicken anymore, and having given the captaincy over to Matthews prior to the season starting, JT is still a mainstay on this team and a key piece to their success. Further, prior to yesterday’s injury, he has been a calming presence in the locker room during Papi’s stretches of missing games and really filling that points gap needed.

If you have Tavares, hold him through his injury on your roster. If not, now during this Maple Leafs' slump and having him week to week on the IR list could be the perfect opportunity to buy low and have him ready for the stretch coming into playoffs. 

The “Depth”

Morgan Rielly has had a rough year. Let’s face it, the days of Norris candidacy might be over. Rielly has struggled to keep his spot on the top powerplay unit, and has had some defensive blunders. While he has never really had a consistent right-handed defense pairing partner, other elite defenders in the league have been able to carry dead weight and still produce.

Rielly only has five goals, 15 assists, and seven powerplay points. He has put up some decent peripherals though, tallying 82 shots on goal, 18 hits, and 65 blocked shots.

Is this enough to hold him on your roster? Yes. Is he a keeper? No. Rielly is about a streaky of a player as you can imagine, and this season continues to hold that trend. He even lost his top powerplay spot to both Oliver Ekman-Larsson and to having five forwards. 

Currently, coach Craig Berube has him back in that spot, and he may stick there with Tavares out. But with a full healthy roster, the blender comes out when they struggle and this puts Rielly’s spot in jeopardy. He doesn’t kill penalties anymore, either - something to keep in mind if targeting this player for your fantasy roster.

Matthew Knies is the most up and down player on the Maple Leafs roster. He can go from playing on the top line with Matthews and Marner, down to the third line. He has been seen on the first powerplay unit to getting no powerplay time at all. Berube doesn’t have full trust in Knies, and this is apparent with his deployment.

Knies is still a great rosterable player though. He has 16 goals, 11 assists and five powerplay points. Knies also has decent peripherals when not putting up points. He has put up 76 shots on goal and 100 hits, but only 20 blocked shots.

If nothing else, Knies does get ice time with players such as Matthews, Marner, Nylander, and Tavares, which in itself adds fantasy value. You are going to accumulate points and +/- just sharing the ice with players of that caliber. 

The "Starter"

Joseph Woll is currently the full-time starter. While brought up to be in a tandem role with Anthony Stolarz, but due to injuries he has been forced to take on a majority of the workload. While he has seen some success, his play has also been streaky.

Coming off of two consecutive losses prior to last night's overtime win, Woll has 22 starts, 15 wins, and holds a .907 save percentage with a 2.66 goals against average. He also has one shutout this year.

Without Stolarz to share the crease with, and because of the increased workload and the slump the Maple Leafs are in, Woll has struggled but still continues to be a top netminder in the league. He should definitely be rostered on your fantasy league, and will put up better numbers with yesterday’s return of Jake McCabe.

Of note, both Woll and Stolarz have a history with injuries when their workload is too much. When both are healthy, even if there is a hot hand amongst them, don’t expect their starts to widen greater than a 60/40 ratio. It’s much more likely to be an even split.

Stolarz is scheduled to return to the lineup next week, and at this time both Dennis Hildeby and Matt Murray will both be sent down and be AHL mainstays, and won’t even be viable to stream.

Closing Thoughts

The Maple Leafs really do have a star-studded roster of elite players. They have great goaltending when healthy, and have the best defense they have had in recent memory, and one of the most elite (and expensive) scoring forward cores in the league. 

They might not be able to stitch it all together, and have been riddled with injuries, but they do continue to win games. When they are hot, they are lethal. When they are cold, the mental wall shows. You never know what you are going to get until the puck drops.

Lastly an important reminder for your fantasy league that Maple Leaf fans will always pay a premium to have their players on their rosters. Take advantage of this! Buy low when they are slumping or injured, and sell high when they are on a hot streak.