The Toronto Maple Leafs moved past the first quarter mark of the season with a 7-10-5 record, three games under .500 and near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, which does not come as a surprise after an offseason of transition and talk of a painful rebuild.
Toronto is hoping that under the tutelage of head coach Mike Babcock, that veterans such as Joffrey Lupul, Tyler Bozak and Dion Phaneuf re-establish their value to possibly be attractive commodities for trades later in the season and youngsters like Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner can grow into future building blocks.
Here is a report card of how the roster is doing so far:
Wingers
James van Riemsdyk – GP:22, G:7, A:5, PTS:12 Joffrey Lupul – GP:22, G:8, A:3, PTS:11 Leo Komarov – GP:22, G:7, A:4, PTS:11
Toronto is 25th in the NHL with 51 goals and the triumvirate of JVR, Lupul and Komarov account for almost half of their goal production.
Van Riemsdyk is on pace to score as many goals as he did last season with Phil Kessel as his linemate and has been able to score in spite of having an underperforming Kadri as his center.
Lupul had a nightmarish 2015 with two lengthy stints on injured reserve and one goal in the last 21 games and is leading the Leafs with eight goals playing on a checking line with Daniel Winnik and Nick Spaling.
The 32-year-old has been able to stay healthy so far and if he maintains his current scoring pace, a contending team might have interest in the veteran scorer closer to the deadline.
Komarov continues to be a disturber of the highest order and effective penalty killer, but has also added an offensive dimension since after being moved onto the top line. The feisty Finn scored eight goals in 62 games as mostly a checker last season and has nearly eclipsed those totals in 22 games.
Grade - B+
P-A Parenteau – GP:22, G:6, A:4, PTS:10
The veteran winger was signed by Toronto to a one-year, $1.5 Million deal after being bought out of the final year of his deal by the Montreal Canadiens.
Parenteau saw limited ice time and was not productive in October, but came alive in November playing with Tyler Bozak and Shawn Matthias and as a power-play specialist (four of his six goals are with the man advantage).
Grade – B-
Daniel Winnik – GP:20, G:2, A:5, PTS:7 Shawn Matthias – GP:21, G:2, A:5, PTS:7
Winnik re-signed with Toronto after being traded to Pittsburgh prior to last year’s deadline and was a solid contributor until suffering a knee injury in Washington on November 7. Since returning, the veteran forward’s performance has declined to the point that he was scratched against Boston last Monday.
Matthias was signed to a one-year contract after scoring a career-high 18 goals with Vancouver and might be the Leafs leading scorer if he had cashed in on half of his scoring chances, but has been more productive playing with Parenteau and Bozak.
Grade – C
Brad Boyes – GP:17, G:1, A:6, PTS:7
The 33-year-old journeyman made the Leafs after being invited on a PTO and after an early stint in the top six was moved down to the fourth line and has been in and out of the lineup. Boyes does have seven points with the least amount of ice time per game (11:20) of any Toronto forward, just one point less than the player averaging the most TOI per game.
Grade – C-
Michael Grabner – GP:20, G:0, A:2, PTS:2
Acquired from the New York Islanders in a five-for-one deal in September, the former Calder Trophy winner has only made a positive contribution as a penalty killer and is no more than an expensive roster filler.
Grade – D-
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