The Toronto Maple Leafs should look at making a trade with the Dallas Stars for Valeri Nichushkin‘s rights.
At this point in time, who knows who will be the general manager for the Maple Leafs and making deals. Signs point to Kyle Dubas. If he’s promoted to general manager, he should strong consider making a call to the lone star state.
At twenty-three years of age, Nichushkin has a tremendous amount of upside and is could possibly return to the NHL. He originally left the NHL two years ago and returned to Russia due to contractual issues. Stars’ general manager, Jim Nills and him didn’t see eye-to-eye during negotiations. Even though he returned to his homeland, the Dallas Stars still own his rights.
Before I continue, if he looks like he’s staying in Russia, then I don’t want him in our possession.
Time With CSKA Moscow
Last season, Nichushkin spent his time playing in the Kontinental Hockey League for CSKA Moscow. In 52 games, he scored 16 goals and 12 assists. This was considered a down year for him, as the year prior he was more productive in the offensive zone. In his 2016-2017 campaign in Moscow, he registered 11 goals and 13 assists in 36 games played.
If you are concerned that he wasn’t playing with NHL-level skilled players, don’t be. He played with former NHLers, Nikita Nesterov, Mikhail Grigorenko, and former Toronto Maple Leaf, Alexey Marchenko.
Time In Dallas
Prior to his return to Russia, he played three seasons in Dallas. In 166 games with the Stars, he had 23 goals and 41 assists. Overall, he isn’t a strong offensive winger. He’s more of a two-way winger who isn’t afraid to help out in both zones.
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In his 2015-2016 season in Dallas, he had a 52.3 CF%, 52.6 FF%, 68 hits, 33 blocks and 33 takeaways. Those numbers might seem kind of low, but he didn’t spend a ton of time on the ice per game. His ATOI was at 13:56 minutes per night.
Where Would He Be A Fit?
Come July 1st, the Toronto Maple Leafs will likely be losing UFAs including James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov. The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t need to go spend money like Brian Cashman of the New York Yankees and recruit megastar after megastar to Toronto. The goal should be to spend as a little as possible and hope that the players pay off.
If Dubas and management does want to unload capital and go after John Tavares for example, you’ll then want to spend as little as possible to recruit guys like Nichushkin to Toronto.
In round one against the Boston Bruins in the playoffs, it was evident that the Bozak-JVR pairing wasn’t working. To be fair, Leafs fans knew that was going to happen. They looked great in the offensive zone, but put them in the defensive zone and its like Homer Simpson running his nuclear station.
Next: Why the Wait for New GM?
It’s time to get a solid two-way forward to the GTA and Nichushkin shouldn’t cost much. The Leafs could part with a third round pick and a shaky prospect to land him.
Thanks for reading!
stats from NHL.com, hockeydb.com and hockey-reference.com