Toronto Maple Leafs Should Trade Zach Hyman

The Toronto Maple Leafs have some found money.

Back in 2015, the Toronto Maple Leafs sent Greg McKegg (a candidate for the worst name ever, for what it’s worth) to the Panthers, in exchange for Zach Hyman, and a conditional seventh round pick.

I don’t know what the conditions were, but apparently they were never met because Florida kept the pick.

McKegg was a third rounder the Leafs picked back when they didn’t prioritize skill over toughness.  Essentially a grinder with no upside, the Leafs flipped him for Hyman, and the rest is history.

Hyman has played parts of four seasons, has back to back 40 points seasons and spent the majority of last season playing on a line with John Tavares and Mitch Marner.

He’s a good player, but it’s time to trade him.

Trading Zach Hyman

Zach Hyman is at his absolute peak.  He scored 21 goals last year (although quite a few of them were empty netters) and had a career high in points.

He is 27 years old, which means it’s highly unlikely he gets any better.

He has two years left on what some would probably view as a good contract that has a cap-hit of $2.25 million.  (As always, all cap information from the lovely capfriendly.com).

Also, Hyman kills penalties, and he plays the game with the kind of toughness people love.  The narrative coming off the Blues win of the Cup (which is stupid – they won a random tournament that was filled with upsets, but no one ever said narratives had to be smart) is making people nuts for this type of player.

This is asset management 101.

You have a player outperforming all expectations, he plays a highly valued style, which is currently in vogue, he makes a reasonable salary and you’ve pumped up his value for a year by playing him with elite players.

Someone will overpay the crap out of the Toronto Maple Leafs for Zach Hyman.  In a league where Kevin $$$$ Hayes gets a $7 million dollar cap hit, Zach Hyman will be seen as an absolute bargain.

You almost have no choice but to cash this chip in.

As much as Hyman is a coach and fan-favorite, the fact is, the Leafs need another elite-level player on a line with Tavares and Marner.  My suggestion would be moving Kadri to left wing, but Boston has conclusively proven how much you can dominate when all three players on a line are elite scorers.

To truly get the most out of Tavares and Marner, the Leafs must give them someone with more offensive power than Hyman has.

Assuming the other line is Johnsson-Matthews-Nylander, the Leafs would have the best two lines in hockey.

With Moore, Mikheyev, Petan, Gauthier, Bracco and whoever else they might give a shot to, the Leafs obviously have enough bodies to make up a half-decent bottom six. (Which will barely matter when you’re icing two first).

The Leafs win twice by moving Hyman.  One, they are going to get overpaid for him.  Two, they stop paying a bottom six player more than the league minimum.

That’s it.  As I said, it’s asset management 101.

And if  you still don’t think this is a good idea, remember that a team recently paid a first round pick – potentially the #1 overall  in 2021 – to sign J.T Miller.

Hyman might not be quite as good as Miller, but the return for a guy who tops out at 20 goals is going to be too much to ignore.

Expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to trade Zach Hyman.