As a sports writer, going to the movies are a necessity. I love going to the movies, I love discussing movies, and while writing about sports and discussing the Toronto Maple Leafs for a living is truly a dream, movies are my secondary interest. I firmly believe that going to the movies helps sports writers improve their breadth of knowledge, but pedagogy is irrelevant here, we’re going to have some fun.

The plan was to originally pair some of the Maple Leafs with the 10 Best Picture finalists, but it would be cruel and unfair to the team to compare them to Emilia Perez, while it became impossible to find a comparable to the titular Anora, or The Brutalist. So without further ado, we’re going to hand out some Oscars, it may be an inexact science, but maybe the real Oscars are the friends we made along the way, this blog is already beginning to spiral!

We’ve reinterpreted the meaning of Best Picture for the purpose of this exercise. If games are like movies — imagine a world in which we have a live archive of all Leafs games — we’re presenting this award to the best single-game performance of the year. This very well could’ve gone to Mitch Marner, for his overtime winner against the Edmonton Oilers, or against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Instead, we’re singling out Matthew Knies’ first career-hat trick, in a 6-4 win against the Boston Bruins.

Knies played the best game of his young career, in a five-point performance, during an electric night at Scotiabank Arena. Auston Matthews returned to the lineup, three days after telling reporters that he may be dealing with a lingering upper-body injury for the duration of the year, and looked no worse for wear. There are a number of performances from the Leafs’ goaltenders — Joseph Woll robbing Corey Perry with one of the saves of the year in a February 1 contest against the Edmonton Oilers was a leading candidate. The totality of Knies’ standout performance gives him the edge.

You’ll notice a common theme, that we’re twisting the awards criteria to fit this blog, which isn’t too dissimilar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, anyways! This award could’ve gone to William Nylander, who often directs play while generating a ton of shots, but the obvious answer is Craig Berube. Berube has installed a defensive-first, north-south system and the Maple Leafs are winning games pragmatically. There have been times when the Maple Leafs haven’t played the scintillating, free-flowing game many were accustomed to watching under Sheldon Keefe, but they’re sitting atop the Atlantic Division and it’s often because of an adherence to Berube’s simple principles.

This one is going to the Maple Leafs’ best player, and it’s been Marner through 59 games. Anthony Stolarz could fight for this designation as well, and if we wanted to make it about theatrics, Pontus Holmberg would be in contention with a team-leading 18 drawn penalties. Marner has been excellent in all facets, he’s tied for sixth in NHL scoring with 74 points and has carried the offence through large stretches of the year where the Leafs were dealing with several injuries. He’s excelled in a contract year, where criticism of his play and anxiety about his upcoming contract are constant hurdles, and he’s cleared them with relative ease. Marner excelled at the 4 Nations Face-Off, particularly in the final, and is poised to lead the Maple Leafs to greater heights this summer.

There are core tenets that constitute the Maple Leafs. You have the Core Four, consisting of Marner, Matthews, Nylander and John Tavares. Morgan Rielly is the team’s longest-tenured player. Knies is now considered among the core group as well, and Chris Tanev is here for the long haul. For these reasons, all of these players are considered ineligible for the best supporting actor award.

We’re giving it to McMann, whose elite speed has been imperative to a reinvigorated third line alongside Max Domi and Nick Robertson. McMann has recorded 17 goals and 26 points in 51 games, he can be moved throughout the lineup, occasionally as a substitute for Knies on the first unit alongside Matthews and Marner, and he’s become the definition of what you want out of your depth players. Toronto has struggled with depth scoring for large stretches of the year, but McMann is an essential piece of the lineup.

We could’ve handed this awarded out for the best drip, where Matthews and Nylander are considered the best-dressed players on the team. Stolarz wins the award instead for his incredibly cool goalie mask, with a message reading ‘Prove People Wrong’ on the bottom. He’s a towering figure, and his TRUE goalie pads, glove and blocker stand out as one of the better designs across the league. It’s a clear win for Stolarz this year, although the one-man Academy here will consider submissions for next year’s awards.