The season is officially over for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But that doesn’t mean the content must stop. Yes, although the Maple Leafs may not be playing actual hockey games anymore, the Editor in Leaf staff have been working around the clock to ensure that every angle from every offseason topic has been covered.
With so many pieces hitting the wall all at once, it’s natural that a few may have fallen through the cracks. So, let’s take a look at some of the past week’s most intriguing pieces.
Two European Players that the Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Target
Kyle Dubas loves himself some market inefficiencies. Be it combing through the undrafted free agent bargain bin or targetting skilled but undersized prospects in the draft, Dubas is a GM who opts to take the path least travelled.
Enter: Europe.
The Maple Leafs have already signed their fair share of European free agents in years past. Andreas Borgman is still in the organization. As is Calle Rosen, and Nikita Zaitsev (hopefully not for much longer). Par Lindholm (may he be remembered) and Miro Aaltonen have already left, while Igor Ozhiganov is rumoured to head back in the summer. They aren’t all going to work, but the ones that can truly make a difference.
In his latest piece, Kyle takes a look at two European free agents that the Maple Leafs should take a look at in the offseason.
“Ilya Mikheyev
After playing in his hometown of Omsk for nearly his entire professional career, Ilya Mikheyev is looking to make a move to North America.
With four productive seasons in the KHL under his belt, the 24-year-old right winger is the top available free agent coming out of Europe this season. Mikheyev is coming off of a career-high 23 goals and 45 points in 62 games for Avangard Omsk, leading the team in scoring.
Mikheyev would be a perfect fit to replace Connor Brown on the fourth line. Unlike most European free agents, who are signed due to their offensive production alone, Mikheyev is well regarded as a defensive player that can play on the penalty kill.”
Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 Reasons Why William Nylander Won’t be Traded
For the love of god, just stop. Stop talking about William Nylander. Stop talking about him being traded, stop spreading the misinformation that he made $10 million this year (I’m not explaining what “pro-rated” means to you), just stop.
The conversation surrounding Nylander’s future will assuredly be burning bright throughout the summer. It’s inevitable. He’s the most controversial player on the entire Maple Leafs roster and another disappointing finish has led fans curious as to where they should point their fingers.
Well, don’t. According to James, there are four distinct reasons why Willy will be sticking around for quite some time.
“We have seen that what we have in William Nylander is a player whose totals were suppressed by circumstance. I guess the question to ask then, is what can we expect from him in the future?
Let’s look at a few things that might give us an idea.
Nylander led the Toronto Maple Leafs in possession, with 56% of the shot attempts when he is on the ice.
This makes him one of the single best play drivers in the NHL. Whatever you think of Corsi is irrelevant – it is a 100% guarantee that a player who under-performs in the realm of goals and assists over a single season, but who drives 56% of the play, and has a history of scoring at a first line rate, will improve his totals int he future.”
Toronto Maple Leafs: It’s Still a Good Time for Hockey
Hey, guess what? The Toronto Maple Leafs are not the only professional hockey team within the city of Toronto. No, the Toronto Marlies also share the spotlight, and after an unexpected and impressive first-round sweep of the higher-seeded Rochester Americans, they could be in for a deep playoff run.
This team was already firing on all cylinders. Now they’re welcoming back two of their highest point-getters in Trevor Moore and Calle Rosen, along with one of the AHL’s best netminders in Michael Hutchinson.
It’s going to be a lot of fun. Here, Nick gets you set for another long summer of hockey in Toronto.
“Trevor Moore is the biggest name coming back to the Marlies. Before he left for the NHL, Moore racked up 39 points in 46 games, but with the Leafs he had 8 points in 25 games.
This is likely his last year with the Marlies as he will potentially start the 2019/20 season with the Leafs. We might see the same from him as we did last year with Andreas Johnsson who was on the Leafs in their playoff run, before returning to the Marlies and helping them win the Calder Cup.
Both these two players will be incredible additions to the Marlies lineup and it will make them an amazing team to watch.”
Thanks for reading!