Newly acquired Maple Leafs forward earns himself a promotion after surprising start

Colton Sissons has quietly been Toronto's best player when it comes to expected goals and he just earned himself a spot in the Maple Leafs' top six.

When the Maple Leafs signed Colton Sissons this offseason, it was meant to bring a defensive anchor to a bottom six that needed a lot more help with exiting the zone and killing penalties more effectively.

It was a deal that didn't garner much attention, but as a self-proclaimed Sissons diehard fan - it was a signing that had a lot more to it than at first glance. He's a relentlessly tough and gritty player who forces opponents into mistakes and provides scoring chances for his teammates. Combined with his elite face-off metrics, he's a valuable part of the lineup.

Colton Sissons is responsible for a lot of Toronto's scoring chances early on

Actually, so far this season he has been one of Toronto's top offensive players even if the scoresheet doesn't show it.

According to Natural Stat Trick, Sissons leads the Maple Leafs in ixG (Individual Expected Goals) with a 1.28, he's fourth on the team in Individual Scoring Chances For (12), leads in Individual High Danger Chances For (9) and also leads the team in hits - all without taking a penalty yet.

These are better numbers than Kirill Marchenko, John Tavares, and William Nylander and Sissons is quietly driving the offense even if he's not flashy.

There's a reason that Easton Cowan and Nick Paul were able to thrive early on together, and it's because Sissons is the glue that holds things together. He's able to open up space and draw defenders which in turn gave Cowan more offensive chances.

It's early, but he's also won nearly 74% of his face-offs, so it isn't just the offensive side that is benefiting as he gives them a reliable pivot in any circumstance and it's an integral part of his skillset.

Colton Sissons is the top six spark plug the Maple Leafs need

Though there have been some positives throughout the 2026-27 season early on, there are some ways the team can improve too. The team needed to add some more grit to the second line and added Easton Cowan to the mix.

It might behoove Jim Hiller to move Sissons into that role instead alongside John Tavares and William Nylander. It would give Tavares extra help defensively and Sissons would be able to get into the dirtier areas while Tavares can crash the net.

If he's leading the team in individual scoring chances and the team is expected to score more often when he has the puck, then allowing him to get that second line some more possession time can only benefit the Maple Leafs as a whole.

In turn, we could see Cowan move down alongside Gavin McKenna or he can slide up alongside Auston Matthews and allow Jack Roslovic to add some scoring help to McKenna and Nick Paul on the third line.

Either way, it's early enough to see what Sissons can do in the top six, and from the way he's been playing so far - he certainly deserves it.

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