NHL Style Rankings: Leafs Arrive in Force, Led by Matthews' Strong Turtle Neck Game

When it comes to the NHL style rankings, I try my best to get a wide-ranging view of the league. Certain teams just don't showcase the pregame fits like others; certain players just aren't into fashion. It is what it is.

For whatever reason, the Toronto Maple Leafs and their collective fashion sense popped off this month in a way no team ever has. Three Leafs made the list—including Auston Matthews, who I'm pretty tough on when it comes to fashion—and there could've been five. Matter of fact, this was one of the hardest two weeks to narrow down in our three-year style rankings history.

The competition created an awesome (if Toronto-heavy), diverse, cross-section of different types of suits, streetwear, shoes, textures and vibes. Everyone please keep it up as we enter the holiday season, and I may even completely forgive Matthews for the mock turtlenecks!

10. Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes

There's something about a creamy, brown-ish pinstripe suit, a transitional mullet, and an aggressive mustache that just stops all traffic. Who is this man? What does he know? What can he sell me?

Here's the full fit.

9. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs

William Nylander on Toronto public transportation (bottom left) could've been in the top 10 itself. Willy Styles' facial expressions and body language have a way of becoming part of the look, and this was on display all week. Maybe I just love his dusty pink-purple suit more than life itself, and I love the different ways he styles it even more.

8. Anthony Duclair, San Jose Sharks

I love nothing more than an outfit that makes me reconsider a fashion rule I'd previously adhered to. Anthony Duclair (bottom right) is sticking to his typical checkered, three-piece suit formula here, but he's also making me want to mix my own blues. No one makes me mix my own blues!

7. Ryan Reaves, Toronto Maple Leafs

I just praised Thomas Chabot for simply carrying an original set of kicks, and naturally Ryan Reaves promptly upstaged him with these beauties. It feels like much of the Maple Leafs roster rocks a basic suit with basic sneakers and expects to be praised.

Not 'round here, partner!

Ryan Reaves might be getting outscored 400-0 during his .002 time on ice average, but he's batting one thousand off the ice.

Here's the full fit.

6. Arber Xhekaj, Montreal Canadiens

Hockey Fights Cancer nights really highlight some of the best-dressed players in the league's talents for their subtle and slight tips of the hat. The darling of the year, Arber Xhekaj, showed Style Rankings Calder Trophy-level expertise in this realm with his purple ensemble for this night. He made it clear he was supporting the cause without making it look even remotely gaudy. I think he's here in the style rankings to stay, folks.

5. Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus Blue Jackets

Merzlikins and his cohesiveness strike again. I don't know if it's the subtle purple peeking out of the grey, the shoes matching the outfit so well, or the way he understands and doesn't abuse the power of a three-piece suit, but this look feels so timeless yet so modern at the same time.

4. Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers

This is the exact outfit I imagine a Hallmark Movie love interest playing on the New York Rangers would wear. I respect and appreciate Vincent Trocheck (bottom right) for bringing this trope to life to prepare us all for the holidays.

3. Matt Dumba, Arizona Coyotes

No offense to Clayton Keller, but I'm not going to just include him in these because the Coyotes have a relaxed dress code and he's wearing the same outfit I wore in 2012. OK, maybe some offense to Clayton Keller. But I promised myself I'd wait until I felt compelled to include the Coyotes and their relaxed dress code in this.

Both of the fits in this response tweet were actually in consideration, but it's easier to look cool sporting a local sports team than it is to have a more timeless take on a current trend.

Matt Dumba (bottom left) is nailing not only the fit and look of the patchwork jeans themselves, but also what the entire outfit should look like when you're wearing patchwork jeans. This might be the only time I'm nodding in approval of the panda dunks, and you know what? Maybe he bought them while they were trending and derived the whole outfit inspiration from a fading out sneaker. That does it for me.

Also, I couldn't officially confirm this, but to me, the doberman T-shirt seems like a nod to West Coast hip hop streetwear. I love nothing more than a subtle nod to the area.

2. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

I've been open about my reluctance to call Matthews the best-dressed player in the league, let alone on the Toronto Maple Leafs. I love a good turtleneck, but I dislike when a good turtleneck becomes your entire personality and you decide to slap a chain around it and call it fashion. The Rock already did this with a thicker neck and a larger canvas than anyone else could even dream to have.

But I will give credit where credit is due, and Matthews finally made his various turtlenecks interesting over the past few weeks. I can live with the dedication to the turtleneck as long as we get this range of fabrics, colors and designers.

1. Mikhail Sergachev, Tampa Bay Lightning

There's a certain je ne sais quoi about late-'90s, early-2000s fashion that many are missing as the trend cycle resurfaces. No, it's not smoking cigarettes, and I'm glad vapes don't look as "cool" as cigarettes did, although I miss being 12 and coughing on the street when a stranger smoked a cigarette. It doesn't hit the same when someone dares to inhale their Blueberry Pancake Hybrid Stick around you.

It's also not the all black, model and/or villain off duty vibe that Matthews, Max Domi and others around the league have adopted.

Looking at Mikhail Sergachev here (bottom left), I'm realizing it takes five things to truly encapsulate male '90s cutting-edge, "Ryan Phillippe on his way to die on the street," fashion: the all-black, the unnecessary sunglasses, the perfectly oversized fit of the suit itself, juxtaposing shapes, and a buzzcut paired with some type of super thin and/or sharp facial hair to truly encapsulate the cutting-edge vibe of this time.

Sometimes you don't know exactly what is wrong until you see what's right, and this is the gift Sergachev has given us all with this fit. Thank you for raising the bar and giving us something to actually talk about, Sergachev.