Toronto Maple Leafs: EIL Content Roundup – May 11th

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.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Questions After Ilya Mikheyev Signing

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: the Toronto Maple Leafs signed a coveted European free agent in the offseason to add cheap depth.

It’s seemingly the same story each year. Dipping their toe in the overseason free agent pool is something the Maple Leafs have done on numerous occasions over the past few years. Sometimes it works; Calle Rosen, (contract notwithstanding) Nikita Zaitsev. Other times it doesn’t; Igor Ozhiganov, Par Lindholm. Nevertheless, it’s an underused avenue in which to gamble on depth pieces with low price tags who could, if all goes according to plan, provide good value at a below-market cost.

The latest example of this experiment is Ilya Mikheyev, a KHL All-Star who was reportedly being courted by all 31 NHL teams. Mikheyev brings penalty killing and depth wing potential to a Maple Leafs lineup that will need it.

Now that he’s signed, Nick attempts to answer the questions which follow.

“While the Russian winger has a left-handed shot and plays on the right wing, it gives Babcock the opportunity to give him a look on both sides. However, he will most likely play on the wing where a player gets traded. And with the dire need of a right-handed shot defenseman, it’s likely one of the two, Kapanen or Johnsson could be in a deal going the other way.

As much as this signing was expected, it didn’t seem like Johnsson or Kapanen would get moved. However, since Mikheyev will be making $925k per CapFriendly, it will be a lot cheaper than the $2-3m AAV for each player.”

Toronto Maple Leafs: Impact of Injuries Next Season

Have you heard the news? According to a slew of reports over the past few weeks, roughly half of the Maple Leafs roster is currently dealing with a significant injury of some sort that they played through during this past season.

Zach Hyman already underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL that will keep him out for the next 6 months. Auston Matthews went under the knife to remove surgical hardware that was leftover from a knee procedure he had in 2013. If that weren’t enough, Travis Dermott will now miss 6 months of his own after getting a procedure to repair a shoulder injury he suffered in February, and John Tavares will be on the shelf for the next month after sustaining an oblique injury during training at the World Championship.

That’s not the news any Leaf fan wants to hear. And with a number of key contributors now expected to be missing at the start of next season, Michael takes a look at how these losses will impact the Leafs moving forward.

“The Leafs had Dermott sit out for four weeks in order for his shoulder to heal up enough so that he could finish off the rest of the season. Now that the season is over, he will have surgery to repair his shoulder and will be expected to miss six months, like Hyman.

His replacement could be one of Rasmus Sandin, Calle Rosen or Andreas Borgman. Two of the three will probably be on the opening night roster and Dermott’s surgery could be a blessing in disguise. If both players are able to show that they are NHL ready then the Leafs might be able to move out Nikita Zaitsev during the season.”

Toronto Maple Leafs: Does Media Diminish Personality?

Athletes and reporters have always had somewhat of a contentious relationship. An athletes job is to perform at the highest level possible, while a reporter’s job is to critique said athlete when that level is not reached.

Needless to say, there is plenty of room for friction.

This has become overwhelmingly present in hockey. The NHL is often derided for its standing as the most boring of the four North American sports leagues, largely due to the cliche-driven answers their players give the media. And yet, when a player does offer up a tasty morsel of a quote to the cameras before them, the media then turns around and villanizes them for it anyway.

Is this fair? Who is responsible for what? That is exactly the question Erin seeks to answer in her piece this week. Give it a read.

“The media doesn’t make much room for jokes or fun. That’s probably why 21-year-old star forward Auston Matthews looks like he’d rather be anywhere else than outside the locker room being interviewed between periods.

Kelly describes Matthews as “media-trained and bland,” but I think he comes off that way partly because of the reasons previously mentioned. When he, Mitch Marner and Patrick Marleau of the Toronto Maple Leafs sat down with Elliotte Friedman to discuss their dynamic off the ice, fans got to see a lighter side of Matthews – all three of them really – in this non-typical hockey interview.”

Thanks for reading!