The 2023–24 Toronto Maple Leafs will have a lot of eyes on them. They made a few big splashes this offseason that could drastically improve their roster. They signed both Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, which will bolster their top nine. However, with all those eyes on the team comes a lot of criticism. So, let’s look at three Maple Leafs players who will be under a microscope during the 2023–24 season.
Calle Jarnkrok
Calle Jarnkrok had an outstanding first season with the Maple Leafs, but now the pressure for him to perform in his second season is much higher. He scored 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points, and he also saw himself playing alongside Auston Matthews for a good chunk of the season. Now, coming into the 2023–24 season, he knows that the Maple Leafs made improvements to their top six that could cause him to play in the bottom six, which could add to the pressure. Jarnkrok has a cap hit of $2.1 million for three more seasons, and this has many members of Leafs Nation calling for him to be traded while his value is higher and use his cap space in other areas.
Well, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving didn’t do that, which means that Jarnkrok will most likely fall victim to criticism when he doesn’t play as well as he did last season. This is why he will be under the microscope this season; he will need to stay as consistent as he can all season and attempt to match his point totals from this season in a lesser role with the club. Jarnkrok will be an important piece in the bottom six for the Maple Leafs; the better he does in his spot in the lineup, the deeper the team is.
John Klingberg
John Klingberg was a free agency addition by Treliving and his staff that raised quite a few eyebrows amongst the team’s fan base. He signed a one-year deal worth $4.1 million, which is a big ticket when you think about the lack of cap space that the Maple Leafs have. The Maple Leafs also let former defenseman Erik Gustafsson go, where he would sign with the New York Rangers for $800,000 a season. Fans were confused about this because Gustafsson and Klingberg both play a very similar style. Toronto could have saved $3.3 million in cap space and used it to sign other depth players to make their lineup deeper. Nevertheless, they locked up Klingberg, who is thrilled to be a part of an offensively gifted team like the Maple Leafs.
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Klingberg will be under a microscope this season because of his contract and how the team could have better utilized his cap space. His time in Toronto will be much like former Leaf Tyson Barrie’s was. He is a very offensively talented defenseman who will be praised for contributing to the score sheet but also strongly criticized when he makes mistakes on his end of the ice. Klingberg has to find his place on the team as fast as possible and play that role to the best of his abilities. He won’t be the most used blueliner on the team, but he will be relied on to contribute to the power play, where he thrives. As for the defensive side of his game, this is where the comments will come from. He has to keep it simple, and he will be okay. However, if he tries to do too much and it costs the team, the fan base will be on him early and often.
John Tavares
Imagine being the captain of one of the most famous sports teams in history. The amount of pressure that would come with that would be too much for most. Now, imagine being the captain and having one of the biggest contracts on a team where money is tight, and you have appeared to have lost a step in your game. That is John Tavares. He is always at the top of the list when it comes to contracts that are too big and that should be moved but can’t be. His contract is the second-highest on the team, behind Matthews, at $11.0 million per season. His point production hasn’t dropped since he became a Maple Leaf in 2018-19; in his first season, he had 47 goals and 41 assists for 88 points, and this past season, he had 36 goals and 44 assists for 80 points. However, the 2023–24 season will be the season that he will be under the microscope the most.
Tavares has been labelled a player on the decline. However, when you look at his point production, it hasn’t declined at all. With that said, his abilities have. His foot speed is significantly slower than it was when he came to Toronto, which is why they tried putting Ryan O’Reilly down the middle with Tavares and Mitch Marner. With Tavares’ speed decreasing, an attempt to move him to the wing may help him and the team. The addition of Domi also helps this happen, similar to last season with O’Reilly. The hope is that Tavares has improved his foot speed this offseason, but if not, Tavares will have to adapt to playing the wing.
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Overall, there will be tons of players under the microscope for the Maple Leafs; it’s Toronto after all. Both Matthews and William Nylander are entering the final years of their deals and still don’t have any extension, which will draw a lot of attention. The questions will surround the blue line and how well they can do with their lack of depth. Especially after Morgan Rielly’s playoff run last year, many will expect him to keep that up going into 2023–24. Like every season, specific players take the brunt of the criticism; last season, it was the likes of Justin Holl, Alex Kerfoot, and Matt Murray. But, as we look forward to the 2023–24 season, you may hear about Jarnkrok, Klingberg, and Tavares as the three players under the microscope the most.