Will admit slight bias towards the Keefe era vs the Babcock era.
MIDSEASON PLAYER GRADES:
Auston Matthews - A+
On pace for 50+ goals, 90+ points. Staying healthy. Dominating.
John Tavares - A
Not going to put up the same numbers as last year, but still producing at a high clip and making his linemates better.
Mitch Marner - A
Despite missing 11 games, still on pace for 87 points and somehow scoring at a higher rate than last year. Struggled a bit early in the season, but has erupted offensively.
William Nylander - A+
Has proven all the critics wrong. He has been playing the best hockey of his career. Has been thriving in all aspects of his game.
Morgan Rielly - C
Rielly seems to be the only player who hasn't improved under Sheldon Keefe. He is still putting up points, but he just isn't his regular self. He is making more mistakes with the puck, making careless mistakes and isn't creating nearly as much offense as he has in years prior.
Ilya Mikheyev - A-
Mikheyev has been a pleasant surprise this year. Unfortunately he is now out for the rest of the regular season, but he was doing great until then. Fast straight line speed, strong forechecking, and a shooting mentality. Other than a 20 game goalless streak, Not much to dislike about soup.
Kasperi Kapanen - C-
Kappy has been inconsistent this year to say the least. When he is playing well he is skating fast, hard on the forecheck, adding a physical edge, and creating offense with a good blend on speed, skill, and grit. But more often than not he has been invisible this year. I notice the play often dying on his stick. He mishandles the puck a lot and has a made a few loud mistakes this year that have often cost the Leafs a goal or even a game.
Tyson Barrie - D+
Barrie obviously had a horrible start. He has been more of a C+ since Keefe has come in, but a D+ overall. Barrie hasn't really been the offensive catalyst that he had been with Colorado. He has been an average defender (except on 2on1s) and if you take away his offensive contributions, average is all he is... He does move the puck well, but he needs to contribute more offensively.
Alex Kerfoot - A
I have loved Kerfoots game. He plays really fast and he is a bit of a pest. Great forechecking too. It may look like his production is down from last year, but he is getting way less powerplay opportunities than he did with the Avs. To me he is the perfect 3rd line centre. Provides good energy, has sneaky skill, and works hard.
Andreas Johnsson - C+
Johnsson looked ok when he was playing. In fairness he was mostly in the Babcock era, but he had trouble finding a role even when playing with Matthews and Nylander. Despite this, he works hard and has great tools.
Jason Spezza - A-
This was a tough ranking because from a production to cost perspective, Spezza has been an A+++. He has scored some big goals and provided some nice secondary offense. He has also been great on draws. On the flip side he is the slowest player on the team and isn't particularly good and winning puck battles. He is a good fit with the bottom 6 guys who do all the work for him.
Zach Hyman - A
Hyman has done everything he usually does (winning puck battles, great cycle game, greasy hockey), but he has also been handling the puck much better than typical. Despite injury, great performances.
Jake Muzzin - B-
Haven't loved Muzzins game this year. He is good, but he has his warts. He is slow and often mishandles the puck. Gotta love his heart, physicality, and shot blocking though.
Justin Holl - A+
Went from healthy scratch to top 4 Dman in a very short time span. Holl simply looks great. Playing shut down D, making breakout passes, joining the rush. All great.
Engvall - A
Massive frame, fast for size, underrated hands, sneaky finish, strong forecheck, long neck....
Dermott - B
Shows flashes of being a top 4 Dman. Has plenty of skill, speed, and flash. With that he makes some silly mistakes at times, but nothing that won't be ironed out with more experience. Would like to see him stay a little cleaner on D, let the offense develop.
Ceci - D+
Cody Ceci has not been good, but I also didn't expect him to be good. He is oddly not really good at anything... Like usually you are a good defender with poor puck skills, or a an offensive dman with some sloppy d. Ceci has low offensive ability AND he isn't good defensively. Its kinda funny. With that being said, last 10 games or so he has been much better and he is way better fit on the 3rd pairing. Still rather Ceci than Zaitsev and his contract.
the only player on this team that deserves an A+ is Freddy Andersen and he deserves an A++.. Matthews and Nylander have been good, but not consistent. Both have defensive issues that need improvement. Give them both an A at best. and Holl at a A+ is laughable.. yes he's been good. But he's still a #4 d-man on this team.. B at best for him. Kerfoot shouldn't be anywhere close to an A.. highly inconsistent and a liability defensively at most times. He mostly looks good on Tavares' wing but struggles to carry his own line. C+ for him..
I feel like a lot of these ratings are actually bias because they're winning. But A LOT of that is on Freddy.
the only player on this team that deserves an A+ is Freddy Andersen and he deserves an A++.. Matthews and Nylander have been good, but not consistent. Both have defensive issues that need improvement. Give them both an A at best. and Holl at a A+ is laughable.. yes he's been good. But he's still a #4 d-man on this team.. B at best for him. Kerfoot shouldn't be anywhere close to an A.. highly inconsistent and a liability defensively at most times. He mostly looks good on Tavares' wing but struggles to carry his own line. C+ for him..
I feel like a lot of these ratings are actually bias because they're winning. But A LOT of that is on Freddy.
Matthews and Nylander have been extremely consistent.. Holl is an A+ relative to expectations. He wasn't even guarenteed to make the team this year and now he is crushing it on the 2nd pairing.
Kerfoot a C+ is an awful evaluation in my opinion. He has played his role extremely well and his style is energetic, hard working, and reliable.
Freddy is obviously a huge part of this team, but people who think he is the sole reason for the Leafs success are lost. The TEAM is good, not just one guy
Freddy is obviously a huge part of this team, but people who think he is the sole reason for the Leafs success are lost. The TEAM is good, not just one guy
Without him in Goal TML with Keefe or not would be losing Games 6 : 10, 2/3 of them.....
Matthews and Nylander have been extremely consistent.. Holl is an A+ relative to expectations. He wasn't even guarenteed to make the team this year and now he is crushing it on the 2nd pairing.
Kerfoot a C+ is an awful evaluation in my opinion. He has played his role extremely well and his style is energetic, hard working, and reliable.
Freddy is obviously a huge part of this team, but people who think he is the sole reason for the Leafs success are lost. The TEAM is good, not just one guy
there's literally been stretches of 2-3 games where you barely notice Matthews on the ice. that's not consistent. & Nylander has been benched by both coaches this year for poor play.. do you even watch the games?
Holl has been good, but an A+ is a massive stretch. Just because he's exceeding expectations, doesn't mean that's an A+. He's still a #4 guy.
& again with Kerfoot, he can't carry his own line. He went missing for a big stretch of games and takes quite a bit of penalties, even admitted that for himself. Hard to give any of that a good rating. He looks good when he's playing with Tavares and Nylander because they carry the line
.. & if you watched the game tonight, you'd know that the Leafs don't win that game without Freddy. He's the reason why they're still in the playoff hunt at all
there's literally been stretches of 2-3 games where you barely notice Matthews on the ice. that's not consistent. & Nylander has been benched by both coaches this year for poor play.. do you even watch the games?
Holl has been good, but an A+ is a massive stretch. Just because he's exceeding expectations, doesn't mean that's an A+. He's still a #4 guy.
& again with Kerfoot, he can't carry his own line. He went missing for a big stretch of games and takes quite a bit of penalties, even admitted that for himself. Hard to give any of that a good rating. He looks good when he's playing with Tavares and Nylander because they carry the line
.. & if you watched the game tonight, you'd know that the Leafs don't win that game without Freddy. He's the reason why they're still in the playoff hunt at all
Yes I watch every game. You have a right to your opinion. Lots of star players have games where they fall off, but its the never going long stretches without producing. I see your point, I still give them A+.
And for Holl it doesn't matter if he is a top 4 dman. What does he have to do to get an A+? Win a Norris? He has exceeded expectations by a mile and that is all that matters.
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