The Winnipeg Jets were very fortunate to have traded for Defenseman, Dylan DeMelo at the 2020 Trade Deadline.  This was not just because of defensive skills, but because they had a player who wanted to be in the tundra of Winnipeg.

DeMelo plays hockey with a simple credo: protect your end of the ice.  An excellent penalty killer, DeMelo rarely puts the puck in the net, but can provide solid passing when needed.  In 2022/23, DeMelo had his 27 Points, with 120 Hits, and two years ago, he had his best offensive season to date with career-highs in Points (31), plus/Minus (+46, which was second overall), Blocked Shots (139), and Hits (167).   He has also been in the top five in Defensive Point Shares the last two seasons.

Going into this year, DeMelo is a quiet contributor to a very good team and has posted a Plus/Minus of +77 over the last two years.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Toronto Maple Leafs.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Toronto finally broke through and made it to the second round of the playoffs, but in “Six” it is all about winning it all.  Last year yielded several elevations and two new entrants, which is impressive considering we are talking about an organization that is over a century old. 

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Syl Apps

2. Turk Broda

3. Tim Horton

4. Charlie Conacher

5. Borje Salming

You can find the entire list here.

Former Hart Trophy winner, Auston Matthews, continues his ascension, as he is now ranked at #15, having risen from #18.

Right Wing, Mitch Marner, climbed to #36 from #43.

Former #1 Draft Pick, John Tavares makes his debut at #40.

Defenseman. Morgan Reilly, advanced to #42 from #47.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

From Sweden, William Nylander was the 8^th Overall Pick in the 2014 Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it did not take long for him to be a top forward for the club.

After he was drafted, Nylander spent the next two years switching from the Swedish League and the AHL, and he made his NHL debut in February of 2016, finishing with 13 Points in 21 Games, proving that he belonged permanently on the main roster.  Nylander scored 61 Points in each of the next two years, but a pay dispute led to a late start in 2018/19, and he was off all year, producing only 27 Points in 54 Games, leading to concern among the fan base.   They needn’t have worried.

Nylander bounced back with his first 30-plus year (31) in 2019/20, and in 2021/22, broke out with his first 80 Point campaign.   The Swedish Center improved his numbers in 2022-23 Goals (40), Assists (47), and Points (87), and in 2023-24 he came close to 100 Points (98) with his second straight 40 Goal year.  His performance was so good that he finally made it to the All-Star Game.  Last year, Nylander's success continued with his third straight 40-Goal and second straight 90-Point year.

While Auston Matthews gains the most attention, much of Toronto's offensive power comes from Nylander.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Pittsburgh Penguins.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Pittsburgh missed out on the playoffs, but there were still a pair of new entrants and some elevations. 

As always, we present our top five, which saw some changes:

1. Mario Lemieux

2. Sidney Crosby

3. Evgeni Malkin

4. Jaromir Jagr

5. Kris Letang

You can find the entire list here.

In the top five, Malkin overtook Jagr for the #3 spot in a reversal of the former Hart Trophy winners.  Letang remains at #5.

Center, Jake Guentzel, climbed to #16 from #23 and Right Wing, Bryan Rust, moved to #27 from #31.

The new entries were Defenseman, Brian Dumoulin and Goalie, Tristan Jarry at #37 and #38 respectively.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.