Toronto Maple Leafs: Leafs Found a Gem in Zaitsev
By Alex Hobson
It appears the Toronto Maple Leafs have found a gem.
In May of 2016, after an absolutely abysmal 2015-16 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced the signing of Russian defenseman Nikita Zaitsev. Director of Player Personnel Mark Hunter has always been known for his eye for talent, but scouting isn’t that easy. You can’t just pick anybody out from another league and expect him to be a star. It’s always going to be a hit or a miss. And so far, it looks like the Maple Leafs found a hit in Nikita Zaitsev.
Zaitsev’s Debut
In his last KHL season, Zaitsev finished with 26 points through 46 games and 13 points through 20 playoff games. He was also a KHL all star that season, and he did very impressive things for a 24 year old. He began last season rotating between playing alongside of Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner, but he eventually found his stride alongside of Gardiner and had a great season, finishing with 36 points in 82 games. It’s worth mentioning that Zaitsev only scored four goals among these 36 points, so he could have easily put up more.
While more offensively-minded, Zaitsev is a two-way defenseman and he’s really got all the tools to be a successful one in the NHL. He’s got the size at 6’2 and 194lbs, and he’s right handed. He can be utilized on both the powerplay and the penalty kill, although he doesn’t see a lot of powerplay time given that Rielly and Gardiner are the quarterbacks, but he’s great at even strength. On top of all of this, he’s also a great skater. If you’ve got good size and you’re a good skater, you’ll have GMs drooling over you.
Play Well, Get Paid
His 2016-17 was apparently enough to impress Leafs’ brass, and they let him know of that by signing him to a seven year contract with an AAV of $4.5 million. If Zaitsev at least maintains the level of production from last season, or even better if he improves it, that deal will turn out to be a steal.
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This Season
Entering the 2017-18 season, Zaitsev was poised to once again take the spot on the second pairing alongside of Jake Gardiner, and I would say he’s been their best defenseman so far. He’s already scored two goals through the first five games (already half of his total from last season) and added three assists on top of that for five points in five games. He’s also a plus-8 on the season, if that means anything. Obviously five games is a small sample size, but if he keeps it up then a 50 point season certainly isn’t out of the question. And if that happens, the Toronto Maple Leafs will truly have a dynamic player in Zaitsev on the blue line.
Next: Auston Matthews Will Contend for Hart Trophy
stats from naturalstattrick.com