While fans twiddle their thumbs waiting for the new Toronto Maple Leafs season—or any professional hockey at all—some will turn to the latest EA Sports NHL title for a fix. NHL 27 does not release until September 11, but early overall ratings for the Maple Leafs roster have already arrived, and they are bold.
The first official batch of Toronto Maple Leafs player ratings in NHL 27, shared by @Nealerrr, puts William Nylander at 93 overall, Auston Matthews at 92, and both Matthew Knies and John Tavares at 88. That is a notable statement.
The clearest talking point is Nylander ranking ahead of captain Auston Matthews, even if only by a single point. Labeling Nylander the highest-rated player on the roster is a gutsy move by EA Sports. Matthews sat at 94 overall in NHL 26 and had previously hovered in the high 80s to low 90s. After a disappointing 2025-26 campaign in which he managed 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games, his rating has dropped. Nylander, by contrast, delivered another strong season with 30 goals and 79 points in 65 games—impressive production on a team that finished as one of the league’s weaker clubs.
The decision is understandable when the margin is this narrow. These ratings are not permanent career judgments. Matthews is not suddenly an 85 overall. A return to 50-goal, 100-point form would quickly restore him as the franchise’s top-rated player in the game.
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Equally striking is the decision to rate 23-year-old Matthew Knies at the same 88 overall as veteran John Tavares. That ranking signals EA Sports views Knies as a peer rather than a developing prospect still refining his game—a strong endorsement of the young winger’s rapid progress.
These ratings arrive as the Maple Leafs enter a transitional period. A disastrous 2025-26 season left them as the fifth-worst team in the NHL, cost both the general manager and head coach their jobs, and forced a complete reset. The organization is now focused on a quick turnaround, aiming to return to playoff contention just months after selecting Gavin McKenna first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft.
For now, the early NHL 27 ratings offer a small jolt of hockey conversation in the quiet months. Whether Nylander holds the top spot or Matthews reclaims it will depend on real ice, not virtual ratings. Until the puck drops, at least the video game version of the Leafs gives fans something to debate.