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Do the Toronto Maple Leafs Have a New Top Prospect?

By James Tanner |
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 26 - Andreas Johnsson (left) congratulates Andrew Nielsen on his goal during the 1st period of AHL action as the Toronto Marlies host the Belleville Senators at the Air Canada Centre on December 26, 2017. (Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 26 - Andreas Johnsson (left) congratulates Andrew Nielsen on his goal during the 1st period of AHL action as the Toronto Marlies host the Belleville Senators at the Air Canada Centre on December 26, 2017. (Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Conventional wisdom says that the Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect is Timothy Liljegren.

That may very well be the case. Timothy Liljegren is an excellent prospect who we hope can be a top pairing defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs for years to come.  I think – with Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Kapanen and Dermott all in the NHL – that basically everyone would agree that Liljegren is the best prospect in the organization.

But as with everything, and especially things that seem to be a consensus, we must ask some questions.  And. at the very least, Andreas Johnsson has made these questions interesting to ask.  I think that although Johnsson is NHL ready and Liljegren is not, that Liljegren’s higher ceiling probably gives him the edge in the prospect rankings.  But we should at least look into it.

Andreas Johnsson

Johnsson is currently the best player on the Toronto Marlies.  The Marlies are the second best team in the AHL, and Johnson is second in league scoring with 24 goals and 52 points in 52 games.  He is one of just  a handful of players to average a point a game for over 40 games this season in the AHL.

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Johnson is fourth in the league in goals and would be leading the scoring race if he hadn’t missed six games.

For the Leafs, this is amazing.  Johnsson is 23 and was drafted in the 7th round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.  That means that he is basically found money.  He stayed in Sweden for three years after being drafted, and no one really talked much about him, other than to say he was a highly skilled player and a decent prospect.  People are pretty deep in their Leafs Prospect Knowledge, so it’s not like he was obscure, but I also don’t think anyone would have bet on him leading the AHL in scoring either.

While he is a bit old for a prospect (and thus, we have to cede the title back to Liljegren) Johnsson is also something we can’t 100% for sure say about Liljegren:  and that is that he is a guaranteed NHLer.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are deep at the wing, but that doesn’t mean that there is no place for him to play.  James van Riemsdyk is a pending UFA, as are Bozak and Komarov.  I can’t see Leivo coming back (even though he signed), neither do I think Plecanek, Moore or Martin are likely to be back next season.

So there is definitely a strong possibility the Leafs will have Andreas Johnsson on their team next year. Should anyone get injured, there’s a chance that he could get called up this year.  He scored six times in 11 playoff games last year for the Marlies.  There’s a high probability he develops into a very good NHLer.   He will need a new contract for next season, but it’s  unlikely to be too expensive.

Next: Leafs Top Prospects @ Christmas 2017

You can never have too many young, reasonably priced, offensive wingers in your lineup.  The Leafs have done well with Andreas Johnsson, but Liljegren remains their top prospect.

stats from hockeydb.com

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