With another season right around the corner, several new faces are going to make their debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Anthony Stolarz, and now Jani Hakanpää, will hopefully perform as advertised and help push the Maple Leafs into a deep playoff run for the first time in over a decade.
That being said, there are several incumbent Maple Leafs that have either not lived up to expectations or have shown flashes of their expected potential throughout their tenure. In this article, we will look at three Maple Leafs players who are entering a make-or-break season this year.
Mitch Marner
Mitch Marner is perhaps the most polarizing player in the Maple Leafs fanbase at the moment. Marner signed a lucrative $10.903M AAV, 6-year contract after his entry-level contract. This was well beyond his comparables at the time, especially after several lacklustre playoff performances.
To make matters worse, Marner’s agent threatened that there were two off-sheets. Whether these were true or not, or a negotiation tactic, is unclear. However, given stars around the league have taken team-friendly or reasonable deals, this struck a nerve with the Maple Leafs fanbase.
Unlike William Nylander’s post-ELC deal, Marner did not outperform this contract and is entering his final year. After losing to Boston in another game-seven collapse last playoffs, GM Brad Treliving said that everything must be on the table. From then onwards, there were many rumours that Marner would waive his no-movement clause and accept a trade to a new team.
However, Marner remains a Maple Leaf, and it is now being reported the opposite, that there may be a mutual interest to re-sign the star winger.
The one criticism that has plagued most of the Maple Leafs’ core, but in particular Marner, is that he does not ramp up the intensity come playoff time, that his regular season “finesse” game does not lend itself to the lack of open space and hard-hitting playoff hockey. Marner has had eight years to change this aspect of his game but has fallen short.
If Marner can find that second gear come playoff time, it puts the Maple Leafs in a tough situation. Clearly, the “core four” experiment has failed over the last eight years, with one series win during that time, and changes are long overdue. But would this be a sign that Marner finally found his stride in the playoffs? Is it worth spending over $11M for eight years after one good playoff run?
Entering his final year, you can bet Marner will try to elevate his game as he is looking to cash in what is likely the last big contract of his NHL career, whether with the Maple Leafs or with another team.
Nicholas Robertson
Nicholas Robertson played a career high 56 games last year, registering 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points. At face value, this does not seem too impressive, a mere 0.48 points-per-game. However, when you factor in that Robertson was in and out of the line-up, a healthy scratch for several games at a time, didn’t get power-play time, and played predominantly on the third line, his production looks more impressive.
For a team that has a harder time obtaining offensive production out of the bottom six, and with Robertson’s natural goal-scoring instincts, you would think Robertson would have re-signed early in the off-season. However, Robertson asked to be traded early this off-season, citing concerns about usage with former head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Two main things made this trade request puzzling. First, there is a new head coach in Craig Berube. And second, the Maple Leafs are very thin on the left wing, especially if Max Domi plays centre under Berube. This would leave Robertson competing with Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann for the top six minutes.
Credit Treliving for working with Robertson’s camp to reach an $875k AAV, one-year contract, instead of trading him. This is a one-year “prove it” deal.
Suffice it to say there is a good opportunity for Robertson to cement himself in the Maple Leafs’ lineup this season, barring another injury, which he has dealt with frequently in his professional career so far. Whether Roberston performs well and re-signs with the Maple Leafs or decides to go elsewhere remains to be seen.
Timothy Liljegren
Timothy Liljegren was selected 17th overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2017 NHL Draft. He was drafted as an offensive-minded defenceman who could quarterback a power play and possessed tremendous puck-moving ability and smooth skating. However, so far in his tenure with the Maple Leafs, Liljegren only has 14 goals and 51 assists for 65 points in 196 NHL games. His playoff performance looks even worse with one assist in 13 career playoff games.
In his time with the Maple Leafs, Liljegren has often been scratched come playoff time, either due to injuries or due to the fact his game does not translate well in the playoffs. Liljegren does not play a physical game and has been known to make gaffs in the defensive zone, with opposing teams often targeting Liljegren due to his lack of physicality. Under Sheldon Keefe, Liljegren often saw third-pair minutes.
Liljegren signed a two-year contract extension with a $3M AAV this offseason. Unlike forwards, defencemen take longer to develop, however, Liljegren is already 25. At this point in his career, Liljegren should be starting to hit his stride. While he reached his career high in points last season in six fewer games, it is still below what his potential is often thought to be.
Like Robertson, some people feel that Liljegren was underutilized by former head coach Sheldon Keefe. Even though he is entering the first year of his new deal, and there is a new head coach, Liljegren is running out of opportunities to establish himself higher than a third-pairing defenceman.
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