The Toronto Maple Leafs should invite Alexei Emelin to training camp.
Last season, the native of Tolyatti, Russia played for the Nashville Predators and had a so-so campaign. In 76 games played, he registered 1 goal, 8 assists, and a corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 46.3.
If you compare Emelin’s numbers to his previous season, you’d notice a significant drop in his performance. He is, after-all, 32. Still, you shouldn’t write off a player after one bad seasons, and now he’s available for free.
It was very different in the seasons prior. From 2011 to 2017, Emelin was playing with the Montreal Canadiens. During his tenure in Quebec, he was averaging roughly 19 minutes a night. He was quite good back then.
Based on his performance in Montreal, it’s hard to write Emelin off after one bad season. Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs front office should extend an invite for training camp to see if Emelin still has something left in his game. Worst case if Emelin isn’t a fit, the Maple Leafs don’t have to keep him. After his PTO contracts ends, the Maple Leafs don’t have to sign him and can let him become a UFA again.
Could Emelin Rejuvenate His Countryman?
If the Toronto Maple Leafs extend a PTO invite to Emelin and he shows that he still has some fight in him, there could quite possibly be a spot for him in the lineup.
If Emelin cracks the lineup, Mike Babcock might opt to pair him with fellow Russian defenseman, Nikita Zaitsev. It wouldn’t be the first time that the two played together on the same squad. In 2016, both defensemen were featured on Team Russia in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Similar to Emelin, Zaitsev’s 2017-18 campaign was a rough one. He was plagued by injuries and saw a decrease in his game. If you compare his 2017-18 campaign to his 2016-17 campaign, you’d notice a drop in both his offensive and defensive numbers.
Perhaps if Babcock were to pair the two together, it might help to rejuvenate Zaitsev. While Emelin isn’t a top NHL defenseman, he’d serve as a solid mentor for Zaitsev. Let’s not forget, it’d be a similar mentorship to the one that Andrei Markov provided when Emelin was first starting out in the NHL.
There is absolutely no risk. You would be offering Emelin a PTO to start out with. If he comes to camp and dominates, you then give him a one year deal worth approximately 900,000 USD AAV. If he shows a decline in his game down the stretch, don’t fret. The Toronto Maple Leafs can waive or scratch.
stats from NHL.com and hockey-reference.com