Still the young upstarts of the Atlantic Division, the core members of the Toronto Maple Leafs only get better with each passing season.
With a top-class goaltender, a collection of the most exciting forwards in the league, and, finally, a prestigious blueline corps, it’s only a matter of time before the Buds break past the first round of the playoffs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the best teams in NHL 20, with enough young talent locked down for the long-term that a dynasty can be forged in Franchise Mode.
In this NHL 20 team guide, you can find all of the players on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster, the best Maple Leafs prospects, upcoming picks, and where the team and prospect pool needs improving.
The latest roster at the time (31 March Roster) was used for this guide.
Auston Matthews, Center, 90 OVR
Age: 21
Nationality: American
Position: Center Sniper
Height/Weight: 191cm, 98kg
Shoots: Left
Best Stats: 95 Poise, 93 Puck Control, 93 Deking, Passing, Offensive Awareness, Wrist Shot Accuracy
Even with the lockdown, the 2019/20 campaign has been Auston Matthews’ career-best, clocking in 47 goals, 80 points, and a +19 rating.
Perhaps most importantly, however, the American center played in all 70 of Toronto’s games to date – the first time Matthews has managed to avoid missing games since his rookie season.
In NHL 20, Matthews is one of the best players in the game, let alone one of the best young players, the best young centers, and one of the game’s best snipers.
Standing 191cm and 98kg, Matthews is a formidable skater to have on the ice, with his 93 puck control, 92 passing, 92 deking, 92 wrist shot accuracy, 91 slap shot accuracy, 92 offensive awareness, and 95 poise being just the tip of the iceberg of Matthews’ ability.
Morgan Rielly, Defenseman. 87 OVR
Age: 25
Nationality: Canadian
Position: Two-Way Defenseman
Height/Weight: 185cm, 98kg
Shoots: Left
Best Stats: 92 Endurance, 91 Offensive Awareness, Passing, Puck Control
While the Toronto Maple Leafs have been climbed back to relevancy, their defence was always the problem – with the exception of Morgan Rielly. The sure-handed Canadian defenseman has been just about the only rock on the Buds’ blueline for a while, but now he’s getting some help.
He may have only featured in 47 games this season, but Rielly managed to put together 27 points and a sturdy +6 rating while gobbling up just over 24 minutes per game.
Morgan Rielly is very well-rounded in NHL 20, as you’d expect from a top-tier two-way defenseman, and is still only 25-years-old.
He boasts 90-plus ratings across deking, passing, puck control, defensive awareness, offensive awareness, discipline, poise, acceleration, agility, endurance, and speed.
Frederik Andersen, Goaltender, 88 OVR
Age: 29
Nationality: Danish
Position: Hybrid Goaltender
Height/Weight: 193cm, 104kg
Glove: Left
Best Stats: 92 Recover, 91 Rebound Control, Vision
Frederik Andersen came out of a tandem in Anaheim to dominate the net in Toronto, putting up consistently strong seasons of 60-plus games with decent save percentage stats.
This season, with 52 games to his name, ‘The Great Dane’ has put up three shutouts, 29 wins, and a .909 save percentage.
Standing 193cm and 104kg, Andersen nearly fills the net in NHL 20, but the sturdy netminder can certainly move when called upon.
Andersen boasts 89 speed, 91 vision, 89 agility, 92 recover, and 91 rebound control. His only real weakness is at stick high, for which he still has a rating of 87 in NHL 20.
NHL 20 Toronto Maple Leafs Roster
From the latest update, 31 March Online Roster, this is how the Toronto Maple Leafs first lines start.
Zach Hyman (81) – Auston Matthews (90) – Mitchell Marner (90)
Morgan Rielly (87) – Tyson Barrie (85)
Frederik Andersen (88)
| Name | Overall | Age | Position | Role | Shoots | Best Stats |
| Auston Matthews | 90 | 21 | Center | Sniper | Left | 95 Poise, 93 Puck Control, 92 Passing |
| John Tavares | 90 | 28 | Center | Sniper | Left | 94 Wrist Shot Accuracy, 94 Offensive Awareness, 94 Hand-Eye |
| Alexander Kerfoot | 81 | 25 | Center | Playmaker | Left | 88 Durability, 88 Speed, 88 Agility |
| Jason Spezza | 80 | 36 | Center | Playmaker | Right | 88 Durability, 87 Strength, 87 Balance |
| Denis Malgin | 79 | 22 | Center | Playmaker | Right | 88 Deking, 88 Agility, 88 Discipline |
| Frederik Gauthier | 77 | 24 | Center | Two-Way Forward | Left | 89 Durability, 88 Strength, 86 Body Checking |
| Andreas Johnsson | 81 | 24 | Left Wing | Sniper | Left | 88 Durability, 88 Agility, 88 Acceleration |
| Zach Hyman | 81 | 27 | Left Wing | Two-Way | Right | 88 Endurance, 87 Balance, 87 Slap Shot Power |
| Pierre Engvall | 77 | 23 | Left Wing | Two-Way | Left | 87 Deking, 86 Agility, 85 Hand-Eye |
| Mitchell Marner | 90 | 22 | Right Wing | Playmaker | Right | 95 Passing, 94 Puck Control, 93 Deking |
| William Nylander | 85 | 23 | Right Wing | Playmaker | Right | 92 Agility, 91 Offensive Awareness, 91 Passing |
| Kasperi Kapanen | 82 | 23 | Right Wing | Two-Way | Right | 90 Speed, 90 Discipline, 90 Acceleration |
| Ilya Mikheyev | 80 | 24 | Right Wing | Two-Way | Left | 87 Strength, 87 Balance, 87 Wrist Shot Power |
| Kyle Clifford | 78 | 28 | Right Wing | Grinder | Left | 92 Aggressiveness, 90 Fighting Skill, 90 Strength |
| Morgan Rielly | 87 | 25 | Defenseman | Two-Way | Left | 91 Passing, 91 Puck Control, 91 Offensive Awareness |
| Tyson Barrie | 85 | 28 | Defenseman | Two-Way | Right | 91 Passing, 90 Agility, 90 Endurance |
| Jake Muzzin | 85 | 30 | Defenseman | Two-Way | Left | 91 Endurance, 89 Shot Blocking, 89 Offensive Awareness |
| Travis McDermott | 81 | 22 | Defenseman | Two-Way | Left | 88 Acceleration, 88 Endurance, 88 Speed |
| Justin Holl | 79 | 27 | Defenseman | Defensive | Right | 90 Durability, 86 Strength, 86 Stick Checking |
| Cody Ceci | 79 | 25 | Defenseman | Two-Way | Right | 92 Endurance, 89 Slap Shot Power, 88 Wrist Shot Power |
| Martin Marincin | 75 | 27 | Defenseman | Two-Way | Left | 88 Durability, 87 Balance, 87 Endurance |
| Frederik Andersen | 88 | 29 | Goaltender | Hybrid | Left | 92 Recover, 91 Vision, 91 Rebound Control |
| Jack Campbell | 80 | 27 | Goaltender | Hybrid | Left | 87 Passing, 86 Speed, 86 Recover |
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a mighty outfit with their newfound defensive depth and superb stock of talented forwards. The Buds even have a back-up who’d be a near-starter with some teams.
Perhaps the only place that needs upgrading a bit is the left wing – assuming that you keep all of your right wingers on the right side.
While Zach Hyman and Andreas Johnsson are certainly useful players to have in the lines – presuming that Kyle Clifford is kept for special and particularly rowdy occasions as one of the game’s best enforcers – forward sets one to four are very lop-sided to the right wing.
In fact, all four center roles are well-stocked too. However, the Buds are right up against the cap ceiling, so some trades need to be made if you want to reinforce the left side.
Given the cap baggage being carried by the Maple Leafs, and contracts like the 79 OVR Cody Ceci, trades to make space would probably be for a loss, but assets to trade away are easy to identify.
Timothy Liljegren, Defenseman, 75 OVR
Age: 20
Nationality: Swedish
Position: Two-Way Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Potential: Elite med
Taken in the first round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, the Maple Leafs have been very patient with Timothy Liljegren, and this season looks to be the Swede’s last in the minors.
With an 11-game cameo in the NHL, Liljegren went back down to the Toronto Marlies to put up five goals and 30 points in a mere 40 games.
Still in need of another season in the AHL, Liljegren is certainly a good option for the NHL lines from the 2020/21 season in NHL 20.
If you really need, Liljegren may only have a 75 OVR rating, but the fleet-footed Swede already boasts a rating of 85 in wrist shot power, slap shot power, acceleration, agility, speed, and durability.
NHL 20 Toronto Maple Leafs Top Prospects
There are plenty of strong prospects making their way through the Buds’ prospect pool, with the most exciting being the two defensemen: Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin.
While Toronto are already well-stacked up the middle, the rate of development of Semyon Der-Arguchintsev and Nicholas Robertson could prove to be very timely a few years down the line.
| Name | Overall | Potential | Age | Position | Role | Best Stats |
| Timothy Liljegren | 75 | Elite med | 20 | Defenseman | Two-Way | 85 Speed, 85 Durability, 85 Agility |
| Rasmus Sandin | 78 | Top 4 high | 19 | Defenseman | Two-Way | 87 Slap Shot Power, 87 Wrist Shot Power, 85 Strength |
| Semyon Der-Arguchintsev | 62 | Top 6 med | 18 | Center | Playmaker | 90 Discipline, 85 Durability, 84 Speed |
| Nicholas Robertson | 62 | Top 6 med | 18 | Center | Playmaker | 85 Discipline, 85 Durability, 84 Acceleration |
| Jeremy Bracco | 71 | Top 6 med | 22 | Center | Playmaker | 85 Durability, 85 Agility, 85 Speed |
| Mikhail Abramov | 61 | Top 6 low | 18 | Right Wing | Playmaker | 85 Durability, 85 Discipline, 83 Slap Shot Power |
| Mac Hollowell | 68 | Top 6 med | 20 | Defenseman | Offensive | 85 Durability, 84 Speed, 84 Acceleration |
| Mikko Kokkonen | 64 | Top 6 med | 18 | Defenseman | Two-Way | 83 Slap Shot Power, 82 Wrist Shot Power, 80 Agility |
| Filip Kral | 63 | Top 6 med | 19 | Defenseman | Two-Way | 85 Durability, 83 Discipline, 83 Slap Shot Power |
| Joseph Woll | 67 | Fringe Starter med | 21 | Goaltender | Hybrid | 83 Speed, 83 Agility, 80 Puck Playing Frequency |
Toronto Maple Leafs’ upcoming draft picks:
- 2020 Draft Picks: 2nd (TOR), 4th (TOR), 4th (VGK), 5th (VGK), 6th (CAR), 6th (TOR), 7th (WPG), 7th (SJS), 7th (STL)
- 2021 Draft Picks: 1st (TOR), 2nd (TOR), 4th (TOR), 5th (TOR), 6th (TOR), 7th (TOR)
- 2022 Draft Picks: 1st (TOR), 2nd (TOR), 3rd (TOR), 4th (TOR), 5th (TOR), 6th (TOR), 7th (TOR)
The Toronto Maple Leafs have enough young talent in the NHL lines and some future stars in the prospect pool, so keeping hold of draft picks isn’t a necessity.
That said, getting some talent in the system to reinforce the left wing over the next few years wouldn’t be a bad idea. The 2020 draft is well-stacked in NHL 20, so it might be worth trading away a bundle of the later round selections to pick a bit higher.
The Maple Leafs are so close to being a Stanley Cup favourite, and while bringing in a higher-rated top-six right winger is the obvious route to improve, staying the course would be perfectly fine too.
Looking for more NHL 20 guides?
NHL 20 Franchise Mode: Best and Worst Teams to Use and Rebuild
NHL 20: Complete Team Strategies Guide, Line Strategies Guide, Best Team Strategies
NHL 20 Team Guide: San Jose Sharks Player Ratings, Roster & Top Prospects
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NHL 20 Franchise Mode: Best Young Players
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NHL 20 Draft: Best Players and Top Draft Steals 2021
NHL 20 Franchise Mode: Best Free Agents
NHL 20 Franchise Mode: Best Young Centers
NHL 20 Franchise Mode: Best Young Goaltenders
NHL 20 Franchise Mode: Best Young Defensemen
NHL 20: Fastest players – Forwards and Defensemen
NHL 20 Franchise Mode: Best Young Left Wingers
NHL 20 Franchise Mode: Best Young Right Wingers
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