For most of the last decade, Auston Matthews has been the easy answer when the Maple Leafs’ best player came up. He’s been the franchise centerpiece, one of the NHL’s top goal scorers, and a strong two-way force.
But William Nylander has made this conversation a lot more interesting.
That question got louder after Nylander piled up five points in Toronto’s 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche. It would have sounded strange not long ago, but now it feels fair to ask: is Nylander the Maple Leafs’ best player?
The numbers over the past two seasons and the first six games of 2026-27 give Nylander a real case. Using Puck Pedia, Nylander has appeared in 153 regular-season games and put up 80 goals and 94 assists for 174 points. Matthews has played 133 games and collected 64 goals, 77 assists and 141 points.
The raw totals favor Nylander by 33 points, though he has also played 20 more games. Even so, the gap doesn’t disappear when you adjust for workload.
Over an 82-game pace, Nylander is sitting at roughly 43 goals and 93 points. Matthews comes out to about 39 goals and 87 points.
In other words, Nylander hasn’t just been piling up stats because he’s been around longer. He’s scored at a better rate, too.
Health is part of why this comparison is tricky. Matthews has dealt with injuries during this stretch, missing games and also fighting through nagging issues that have affected his play when he has suited up.
Last season ended early for him because of a more serious knee injury. There’s no way to know exactly what a fully healthy Matthews would have done.
Still, availability counts. If the question is who has given the Maple Leafs more value, durability can’t be ignored.
Nylander has been on the ice more often, and that has helped him build a lead of 16 goals and 33 points across this period. Despite Toronto’s rough 2025-26 season, Nylander was the team’s most valuable player.
That edge showed up in the playoffs, too. In Toronto’s most recent run, Nylander posted six goals and 15 points.
Matthews finished with three goals and 11 points. Through the first six games of this season, the pattern hasn’t changed much: Nylander has five goals and 11 points, while Matthews has four goals and 10 points.
If this were only about offense, the argument would tilt hard toward Nylander. But “best player” means more than finishing chances and filling the scoresheet.
Matthews is still the better all-around player. Nylander’s scoring touch has never been in doubt, but his work without the puck has often been the weaker side of his game. Matthews has grown into a player who can influence games at both ends, and that matters.
The plus/minus numbers, flawed as they are, at least point in that direction. In the regular-season sample being examined, Matthews is plus-9 and Nylander is minus-5. Add Toronto’s 2025 playoff run, where Matthews was even and Nylander was minus-3, and the difference grows to 17 goals: Matthews at plus-9, Nylander at minus-8.
That doesn’t settle the defensive debate by itself. Plus/minus has too many moving parts to do that. But it does match what the eye sees: Matthews does more away from the puck.
So is Nylander the Maple Leafs’ best player? Probably not, if “best” means most complete. Matthews still holds that title because of his defensive value, his ability to play in every situation, and the way he impacts the full rink.
Even so, Nylander’s rise is impossible to miss. Over the last two-plus seasons, he has played more, scored more, and produced more. He outperformed Matthews in the most recent playoff run, and he’s started this season with the upper hand again.
Maybe he hasn’t taken the overall title from Matthews. But Nylander has clearly become Toronto’s biggest offensive threat, and that’s a major shift for a team that has long belonged to Matthews in that conversation.
In Other News...
Leafs Chemistry Problem Is Putting Early Pressure On Jim Hiller
Early in the season, Jim Hiller is already trying to solve one of the oldest problems in hockey: how to turn a talented Maple Leafs roster into a group that actually feels connected. The moving parts have been easy to spot, with Matthew McKenna getting looks alongside Auston Matthews and William Nylander, while Easton Cowan has also been part of the forward mix as Hiller keeps searching for the right blend.
The changes have come with an obvious tradeoff, because the Leafs are still in the stage where nearly every combination seems to be under review. Past coaches have long stressed how much consistent linemates matter, and this stretch is a reminder of why, especially for a team trying to build chemistry while the lineup keeps shifting around it. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Face A Tough Blue Line Call As Trade Buzz Builds
Simon Edvinssons return to North America to train has added another layer to the league-wide defense chatter, with the Detroit Red Wings still trying to get him signed before December 1. Around that, the market keeps humming: Montreal is pursuing Dylan Larkin as a second-line center, and the fan buzz there has only amplified the sense that conversations are moving even if nothing is finished yet.
For the Maple Leafs, the focus has quietly widened beyond the obvious names, with Calgary blueliner Zach Whitecloud drawing exploratory interest. It is still just that at this stage, a look rather than a move, and no formal trade has been made, but it fits the kind of search Toronto has been in as the Blue Line market starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Bo Groulx Suddenly Looks Like A Leaf Fighting For His Spot
Bo Groulxs place in the Maple Leafs lineup is suddenly looking a lot less secure. Toronto head coach Jim Hiller chose to take Groulx out against the Utah Mammoth, a move that came with an unusual wrinkle: seven defensemen and 11 forwards dressed for the game, leaving the young forward on the outside looking in after a quiet start to the season.
Groulx has yet to record a point in five games this year, and his NHL resume still sits at 10 points in 83 games. For a team that is always weighing depth, fit and long-term flexibility, a decision like this can hint at bigger conversations ahead, including the possibility that Toronto is already exploring other options for how to shape the roster. [Read more 🡒]