Comparing the 2015-16 last place Leafs to the current team in 2023-24
Auston Matthews has been in the NHL for 7 years now but his immediate impact on the Toronto Maple Leafs can't go unnoticed. The 2015-16 Leafs that finished dead-last in the NHL with 69 points - only 1 more than the 2nd-last Edmonton Oilers - were awarded the 1st overall selection ahead of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft thanks to a draft lottery win. With that top pick, the Leafs earned the right to draft one of Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine, the consensus two top prospects in the draft.
It was a no-brainer as the Leafs selected Matthews over Laine and they haven't looked back since. Matthews is 11th in points since 2016-17, 1st in goals with 2 more than Alexander Ovechkin in 27 fewer games, and even owns the 7th best plus/minus rating since his rookie season.
However, how did the Leafs get to being the worst team in the NHL? Well, it was a tough season offensively for the Buds as Nazem Kadri paced the team with 45 points in 76 games and P.A. Parenteau led the team with 20 goals and was 2nd in points with 41. Only 2 Leafs hit the 40-point plateau, another 4 scored 30+ points, and only 6 reached double digits in goals with Parenteau being the lone 20-goal scorer.
The Leafs finished 3rd last in goals scored with a measly 192, finished with the 6th most goals allowed with 240, had the 2nd worst power play, which clicked at a 15.44% clip, and were tied for the third lowest save percentage total at just .904%.
They went out there with an offense featuring the aforementioned Kadri and Parenteau, along with the likes of Leo Komarov, Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, Peter Holland, Brad Boyes, Shawn Matthias, Colin Greening, Joffrey Lupul, Daniel Winnik, and Byron Froese among others. Their defense featured Roman Polak, Dion Phaneuf, Martin Marincin, Matt Hunwick, Jake Gardiner, and a young Morgan Rielly with James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier combining for 65 starts.
A year later with the insertion of Matthews and Mitch Marner, the Maple Leafs finished 3rd in their division, had a 26-point increase from the previous season, qualified for the post-season for just the 2nd time in 12 years, and Matthews paced the club with 40 goals and 69 points. The team was 5th in goals scored, 9th lowest goals against average, and 2nd best power play - a turnaround of epic proportions in just one year.
Fast-forward to 2023-24 and the Maple Leafs have Matthews, Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander, Max Domi, Tyler Bertuzzi, Matthew Knies, Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, and Jake McCabe, along with a pretty solid trio of goaltenders in Ilya Samsonov, rookie sensation Joseph Woll and veteran Martin Jones. The Leafs have become a perennial playoff team and their issues no longer revolve around the lack of scoring, paltry defense and subpar goaltending, or owning an awful special teams quotient. Their issues come with having a stacked roster with plenty of stars that are making a lot of money and have pushed the team over the red and in need of LTIR relief to remain cap compliant.
Matthews is one of the best players in the NHL, was ranked as the 4th best center in the league by the NHL Network, and has become the most potent goal-scorer in the entire league since his rookie season. Finishing last in 2015-16 was well worth it with how Matthews has shifted the Leafs from basement-dweller to perennial contender - with help from Marner and company, of course.
