Maple Leafs’ biggest surprise, disappointment to start 2024-25 season

The Maple Leafs have a slew of high-priced superstars on their roster. Names like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly have been at the top of the Maple Leafs list of key players for years.

There hasn’t been a lot of changes this year, although Matthew Knies, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jake McCabe have taken on key roles with the team.

Additionally, the Maple Leafs have seen their goaltending play key roles in their past failures. Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll have performed well to this point and that could indicate a turnaround is at hand. Stolarz has a 6-3-2 record with a 2.11 goals against average and a .930 seve percentage. Woll has a 3-2-0 record with a 2.40 GAA and a .902 save percentage.

The most surprising performance has come from Nylander. While there is no doubt that he has become a legitimate star in recent seasons, he has eclipsed all the other Leafs leaders in goal scoring.

He has already scored 12 goals and 8 assists for 20 points. Nylander is connecting on 19.7 percent of his shots on goal and he has tallied 4 power play goals.

Nylander is the only Leaf who has reached double figures in goal scoring, with center John Tavares second in that category with 9 goals. Nylander has scored 40 goals in back to back seasons, but that total could reach 50 or more if he can maintain his current pace.

Mitch Marner is the team’s leading point producer as he has recorded 5 goals and an eye-opening 17 assists for 22 points.

Matthew Knies has also been a key contributor with 7 goals and 4 assists.

Auston Matthews off to slow start, mainly due to injuries

Auston Matthews was unstoppable in the 2023-24 season. He led the NHL with 69 goals last season as he easily earned the Rocket Richard Trophy for the most goals.

Matthews was healthy last year as he played in 81 of the 82 regular season games. There was an unstoppable characteristic to his game. It seemed that any time he had a clear look at the net when he was near the offensive zone face-off circles he would put the puck by the goaltenders.

However, last season’s success has not carried over to the 2024-25 season. Matthews has been limited to playing in 13 of the team’s 18 games due to an upper body injury. As the 25 percent mark to the regular season approaches, Matthews has just 5 goals.

He has also added 6 assists for 11 points, but the Leafs expect so much more from game’s most dangerous goal scorer.

Once Matthews returns to the lineup and full health, it is fair to expect him to pick up his scoring. He has hit the 60-goal mark twice in his career, and he has scored at least 40 goals 6 times in his first 8 full seasons.

But he is clearly a huge disappointment to this point in the season.