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 2021/22 revision of our top 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, the Maple Leafs made the playoffs but were again bounced in the first round.  Toronto might be an Original Six team with over a century of history, but last season brought us two new entries and one gigantic leap, though none of these affected the top fifteen.

As always, we present our top five:

1. Syl Apps

2. Turk Broda

3. Tim Horton

4. Charlie Conacher

5. Borje Salming

You can find the entire list here.

The colossal jump that we mentioned earlier was Auston Matthews, who last year won the Hart Trophy, the Ted Lindsay Award, the Rocket Richard Award, and showed that he was the best player in hockey in 2021-22.  The American Center skyrocketed from #42 to #18.

Right Wing, Mitch Marner debuts at #42.  He has been named a First Team All-Star the last two seasons.

Defenseman, Morgan Rielly also makes his first appearance at #46.  

The additions of Marner and Rielly knock Phil Kessel and Gus Mortson off the list.

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

The upcoming start of actual football games means it is time to rank players on their actual football ability after an offseason spent continually ranking and re-ranking college football players on NIL deals and transfer portal changes. A good, old-fashioned 1-to-30 stacking of who is the best at playing football, independent of position, would be preferable rather than ranking players by team, conference, or where they may or may not be taken in upcoming NFL drafts.

Currently entering his thirteenth season in the NHL, Morgan Rielly has been the best Defenseman for Toronto for years, a prognostication that the organization hoped for when they took him Fifth Overall in 2012.

Rielly made the Leafs the following season and had at least 20 Assists in his first four seasons, providing solid offensive rushes and quickly finding work on the power play.  In his fifth season (2017-18), Rielly broke out with a 52 Point year, which he followed with his best season to date, a 20-52-72 campaign that saw him finish fifth in Norris voting.  

He dropped back to his rookie numbers the two years after, but he rebounded in 2021/22 with a 68-Point campaign and had 58 two years ago with his first All-Star Game appearance.  As the top offensive blueliner in Toronto going into the 2025-26 season, Rielly is poised to climb many more rungs on this ladder.

Drafted Fourth Overall in the 2015 Draft, Marner led the London Knights to a Memorial Cup Championship in 2016, proving himself to be one of the best Juniors of his day.  Marner transferred that success shortly after to the Maple Leafs, posting a 61 Point season and earning All-Rookie honors at Right Wing.

Marner continued to adapt quickly to the NHL speed, and the playmaker had a 94 Point campaign in 2018-19, his third year in Hockey.  Although Marner’s numbers only saw him score 67 Points in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, he played fewer than 60 Games in those years, with the latter being the COVID-shortened season.  Marner was named a First Team All-Star that year, and he built on that last season with his best year to date, with a 97 Point year and his second straight First Team All-Star Selection.  While unable to secure another postseason All-Star in 2022-23, Marner set a then-new high in Points with 99, and he again posted solid numbers the year after with an 85-point campaign.

Marner played one more year in Toronto, where for the first time he scored over 100 points (102) and was third in Assists (75).  Despite the success, Marner was frustrated with the team's lack of success in T.O. and sought an exit, which he achieved when he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights.

With Toronto, Marner scored 741 Points in 657 Games.