Since the calendar flipped to 2025, the Toronto Maple Leafs have experienced some ups and downs.
From winning five straight to begin the new year to losing three straight and rebounding against the Montreal Canadiens in a crazy come-from-behind win, the Maple Leafs continued that inconsistency last week, winning two games before dropping their next two to close out Week 16.
3rd star: Matthew Knies
Week 16 stats: 2 GP – 2 G – 1 A – 3 PTS
Season stats: 47 GP – 18 G – 13 A – 31 PTS
Week 16 of the Maple Leafs’ season included matchups against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators. Unfortunately, last week’s third star only dressed for two of those games after leaving Wednesday’s game against the Blue Jackets with an upper-body injury. However, before departing with an injury, Knies left an impression that week, as he recorded three points in their 5-3 win over the Lightning, continuing his dominance against that organization.
His three-point effort last Monday was his fourth multi-point game of the season and the second time he had registered three or more points in a single contest. His sophomore season may have started a little slow for some people’s liking, but the 22-year-old has cemented himself as a very valuable complimentary piece in the Maple Leafs’ top six with his style of play.
With his three-point week, he has improved his season totals to 31 points – 18 goals and 13 assists – in 47 games, putting him on pace for 52 points – 30 goals and 22 assists, which would all be career highs for the Phoenix, Arizona native.
2nd star: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Week 16 stats: 3 GP – 0 G – 3 A – 3 PTS
Season stats: 49 GP – 3 G – 18 A – 21 PTS
The signing of Oliver Ekman-Larsson during the offseason received some flak, and deservedly so, given his age and the history of the player before his impressive bounce-back campaign with the Panthers in 2023-24. However, the 33-year-old has been a pretty stable addition on the backend, bringing a little bit of everything to the table whenever he is on the ice.
Following a sharp decline in production with the move to the Canucks and the uncertainty on the defensive side of the puck, Ekman-Larsson reinvented himself with Florida, becoming more reliable defensively while remaining a smooth skater and someone who can break the puck out effortlessly. Upon his arrival in Toronto, that translated to the ice for the Maple Leafs, and he has been among the better free agent signings from Brad Treliving thus far.
The Swede may have gotten out to a slow start points-wise with just 11 through his first 33 games but has since gotten on a hot streak with 10 in his last 16, including a current four-game point streak (one goal and four assists) thanks to a three-point week last week. Suddenly, Ekman-Larsson is having one of the best seasons of his career in a long time. With 21 points in 49 games, he’s on pace for 35 points, the highest mark since the 2018-19 season when he scored 44 with the Coyotes.
1st star: Mitch Marner
Week 16 stats: 3 GP – 1 G – 3 A – 4 PTS
Season stats: 50 GP – 15 G – 53 A – 68 PTS
Stop me if you’ve heard this before this season, but Mitch Marner is doing Mitch Marner things almost every single night, and it has been a treat to watch as he has arguably been this team’s MVP through 50 games. During week 15, Marner hit the 700-point mark, becoming the fastest Maple Leaf to reach that mark after his two-assist effort against the Devils, and also passed Dave Keon that night on the franchise’s all-time assist list with assist number 494 and 495.
Fast forward to week 16, last week’s slate of games, and the Markham, Ontario native made more history. Following his performance against the Lightning last Monday, Marner passed Borje Salming for the most multi-assist games in franchise history with 123, after a three-point night (one goal and two assists).
That night marked the 15th time this season Marner has recorded two or more assists in a single game, which helped him stay on pace with the top leaders in the league in points. He currently sits fourth with 68, right behind Nikita Kucherov (73), Leon Draisaitl (74) and Nathan MacKinnon (77).
