Toronto Maple Leafs: Phil Kessel and the Top 5 Leafs of the First Half

It's All-Star Weekend in the NHL.

That means the unofficial first half to the season has wrapped up.

For the Toronto Maple Leafs, it has been an up-and-down 49 games that has included several winning streaks as well as losing streaks.

Their 25-19-5 record, though, is good enough to have them tied with the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

While some Maple Leafs have struggled through the first 49 games of the campaign, others have excelled.

Let's take a look at Toronto's top-five players of the unofficial first half of the season.

Honorable Mentions: Cody Franson and Jake Gardiner

With a player like Joffrey Lupul's surprise start to the season, many people tend to overlook surprisingly solid play of young defensemen Jake Gardiner and Cody Franson.

Franson has made the most of his time with the Maple Leafs, playing very good hockey after being inserted into the lineup thanks to an injury to Mike Komisarek (and, more recently, John Michael Liles).

Franson has been able to log over 16 minutes of ice time per game this season while putting up 14 points and a plus-3 player rating in the 34 games (not too shabby for a second- or third-pairing defenseman) he has suited up for. His shot has also helped the Leafs' power play unit. Needless to say, it won't be easy for coach Ron Wilson to bench him when Liles is ready to return.

As for Gardiner, many in Leafs Nation knew he would be a bright spot for years to come when he was acquired (along with that "salary dump" Joffrey Lupul) last season. What many failed to realize, though, was that he'd make the team right out of training camp and play such an important role.

Gardiner has played in 42 of the Leafs' 49 games this season, averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time per game and posting a respectable 14 points and plus-4 player rating. His skating and puck-moving abilities are some of the best on the team, and he has made himself an indispensable part of the Leafs' deep defensive corps.

On behalf of Leafs Nation, hats off to these two young defensemen.

5. John Michael Liles

When John Michael Liles (and his $4.2 million cap hit) was brought to Toronto, many Maple Leafs supporters wondered if that was a smart move for a team already deep on the back end.

Turns out that (once again) Brian Burke knew precisely what he was doing.

Acquiring the veteran Colorado Avalanche defender only cost the Maple Leafs a second-round draft choice (the conditional pick acquired from the Bruins in the Kaberle deal, no less) and allowed them to acquire another swift, offensive defenseman to help Dion Phaneuf quarterback the power play.

In his 34 games before being sidelined with (surprise!) a concussion (or "concussion-like symptoms," as NHL teams like to call them these days), Liles had put up an impressive 21 points (good for 51 over an 82 game season) and plus-2 player rating (keep in mind, you don't receive a plus for any goals scored on the power play).

This is all while he was putting up nearly 22 minutes of ice time per game.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone when the Leafs elected to lock up Liles for four more years at a cap hit of just under $4 million per season.

4. Mikhail Grabovski

Despite his less-than-stellar start to the season, Grabovski should be included as one of the Toronto Maple Leafs' top players of the first half.

After posting just 11 points through his first 20 games in October and November (which put him on pace for a disappointing 45 points), Grabovski has been able to tally 21 points (10 goals and 11 assists) over his 23 games in December and January (which included four points in a game that the Leafs won 4-3 in overtime on Long Island this week). This pace would have given him nearly 80 points at the end of the year had he played this way all season.

While many will dispute his placement on this list, Grabovski has been instrumental in ensuring that the Leafs get the necessary source of secondary scoring in order to stay in the hunt for the postseason.

3. Dion Phaneuf

Dion Phaneuf has been Toronto's best defenseman of 2011-2012 and one of Toronto's top players overall.

With a cap hit of over $6 million and the captain's "C" on his jersey, Dion Phaneuf came into the season with the Maple Leafs and their fans ( and, oh, right, don't want to forget that pesky Toronto media) expecting big thing.

Suffice it to say, he has not disappointed.

He has led the team in ice team per game (by over three minutes, no less) this season, playing over 25 minutes per game.

He leads all Toronto defensemen with 28 points, and he also leads the team in ice time on the power play.

He is easily on pace to have his best season yet in the blue and white, and not so coincidentally, the Leafs are also poised to have their best season as a team since acquiring the Edmonton native.

2. Joffrey Lupul

This season has been a career year for Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul.

He couldn't have asked for more. It's his first season free of injury (knock on wood) since 2008-2009, when he played in 79 games with Philadelphia and tallied 50 points. He's also just one point shy of his career high (which was 53 in 2005-2006). All of this in a contract year.

Being put on a line with Phil Kessel seems to have reignited his career.

Either way, Lupul leads the Leafs with 52 points in 49 games (putting him on pace for 87 by season's end) and has undoubtedly been the one of the top two or three Maple Leafs this season.

1. Phil Kessel

Where to start with Phil Kessel.

At the age of 24, Phil Kessel is already one of the top players in the NHL (as much as the anti-Toronto crowd hates to admit it).

2011-2012 will mark the fourth consecutive season in which Kessel will surpass the 30-goal mark (assuming he pots four more goals after the break), putting him in elite company.

He's also in the top 10 in the NHL in points with 51.

Tomorrow will also mark his second consecutive All-Star appearance.

Phil Kessel hasn't just been the best player for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, he has been one of the top players in the NHL as well.

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