Digging Deep into the 46 Players the Toronto Maple Leafs Signed This Week

CALGARY, AB - MARCH 2: Nick Shore #25 of the Calgary Flames skates against the New York Rangers during an NHL game on March 2, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB - MARCH 2: Nick Shore #25 of the Calgary Flames skates against the New York Rangers during an NHL game on March 2, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)
8 of 8
PITTSBURGH, PA – APRIL 16: Members of the Pittsburgh Penguins look on from the bench in the final seconds of the third period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Islanders at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 16, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – APRIL 16: Members of the Pittsburgh Penguins look on from the bench in the final seconds of the third period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Islanders at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 16, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)

Garrett Wilson

I laughed this week when I saw people getting excited about this acquisition, and then read that Garret Wilson scored less per minute than Roman Polak.

Good times!

That’s probably not a good thing if you’re hoping to make this Toronto Maple Leafs roster. Fortunately while he is about as good as scoring goals in the NHL as I am, Wilson is actually a half-decent player.

His RAPM chart (Evolving-hockey)  shows a player who does pretty much everything OK but score.  Since the Leafs are likely fifty miles ahead of the next best offensive team in the NHL, it won’t hurt them to dress an offensive black-hole like Wilson if his other skills are helpful.

Wilson brings solid defense and some grit to a lineup that otherwise lacks it.  When competing for a spot on the roster, there aren’t too many other options for what Wilson brings.  Mason Marchment isn’t considered an NHL player, and people are longing to put him into the lineup, so maybe Wilson has a chance.

That said, Kerfoot, Kapanen, Mikheyev, Spezza, Shore, Agostino, Hyman, Moore, and Petan are going to present a huge challenge for a player like Wilson.

Most likely he starts on the Marlies and is available for injury help.

Overall, you have to love what the Leafs are doing here.  They’ve stacked their lineup with depth players and unlike other teams – Vancouver, Nashville, Pittsburgh etc – they haven’t spent any significant money or term on adding depth players.

Kyle Dubas can’t be popular among his peers, since his main accomplishment is making them look like idiots on a daily basis.