The Toronto Maple Leafs have had lots of talented players throughout their history but next season, a trio could make franchise history. For the first time, the Maple Leafs could have multiple players finish the season with 100+ points. Toronto has only had three different players in their history reach the century mark. Darryl Sittler, Doug Gilmour and Auston Matthews achieved this feat twice in their careers. Although, the current Leaf’s roster is loaded with talent. Also, they will be guided by a new coach who would like his team to ‘play north’.
Maple Leafs Trio Could Make Franchise History
Matthews, Marner, Nylander Trifecta
Matthews’ teammates, Mitch Marner and William Nylander have both come close to reaching the 100-point milestone. Two seasons ago, Marner was just one point shy of 100, and one season prior to that he finished with 97 points. With Marner heading into a contract year, expect him to hit 100 points for the first time. For most of their careers, Marner and Matthews have been a dynamic duo. They’ve played together for the entirety of their careers, usually sharing the first line. That narrative is expected to remain next season as the two are projected to be on the first line with Matthew Knies on their left wing. If Marner joined Matthews in an opportunity to reach the century mark together, it would be the first in Maple Leafs history.
However, the record doesn’t need to stop at two players, as Nylander has recently emerged as a superstar. The Swede winger had a sweet season, scoring 40 goals and a career-high 98 points in his contract year. In the middle of the season, he earned an eight-year extension at $11.5M AAV. The 28-year-old became a game-breaker for the Maple Leafs in the process of earning his latest contract. Furthermore, of those 40 goals, seven of those were game-winning goals. In addition to that, he concluded the season with a career-high average in ice time playing just under 20 minutes a game. Assuming his excellence continues, he could complete a trio of 100-point scorers for the Leafs.
One thing that could help the Leafs trio achieve this record is the powerplay. Last season, Toronto finished seventh in the league in powerplay percentage. However, the club believes there is room for improvement as they revamped the coaching staff. With this change, and the remaining stars that grace Toronto, this record isn’t so far from reality. Not to mention that the Leafs were the second most highest scoring team in the NHL, scoring points is not a problem for the Buds.
The History of this Milestone
If the Leafs trio were able to pull off this feat, they would be the 10th team in history to have three players on the same team hit 100 points. This milestone was obtained recently by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2022-23 season. The Oilers’ trio of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a combined 385 points that year. McDavid scored a whopping 153 points all by himself, 64 of those points were goals. In fact, he won four individual trophies that season. He was awarded the Art Ross, Rocket Richard, Ted Lindsay, and the Hart Trophy. So, it’s no secret that in order to achieve this three-person accomplishment, it requires immense amount of talent.
A quartet of players hitting the century mark has only occurred on five occasions. Three of those times was achieved by the iconic Oilers in the 80’s. Wayne Gretzky and company reached this feet in ’83, ’84, and ’86. Besides them, the other two teams on this short list is the ’71 Boston Bruins and the ’93 Pittsburgh Penguins. Ironically, despite these incredible seasons, only on one of these occasions did the team go on to win the Stanley Cup. It was the Edmonton Oilers in 1984, they defeated the New York Islanders in five games.
Maybe the NHL will see this accomplishment happen again in the 2024-25 season.
Main Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
