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Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Most Surprising Off-Season Roster Addition

By Wilbert Timmermans

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 5: Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tyson Barrie #94 returns to the dressing room after the second period against the Montreal Canadiens at the Scotiabank Arena on October 5, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 5: Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tyson Barrie #94 returns to the dressing room after the second period against the Montreal Canadiens at the Scotiabank Arena on October 5, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 7: Ilya Mikheyev #65 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at the Scotiabank Arena on October 7, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 7: Ilya Mikheyev #65 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at the Scotiabank Arena on October 7, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Alex Hobson

I feel like I’ve been a broken record on this topic, but my answer yet again is Ilya Mikheyev.

The Leafs haven’t had good luck with European signings as of late. The Zaitsev signing looked good for one year, then he seemingly lost all his confidence and he’s now locked into a horrible long-term contract playing for the Ottawa Senators. Par Lindholm scored a whopping one goal in 61 games for the Leafs and now plays for the Boston Bruins, while Igor Ozhiganov just never looked in place with the Leafs and went back to Russia after one NHL season.

With all this being taken into consideration, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Ilya Mikheyev. In fact, I was keeping expectations low given the track record the Leafs were developing with European signings.

But four games into the season and I’m not only surprised but very impressed by the way Mikheyev has played. He has one goal and three points so far and he’s clearly already gained Mike Babcock’s trust seeing that he’s being granted penalty kill minutes.

The third line as a whole has been a pleasant surprise. Mikheyev along with linemates Alex Kerfoot and Trevor Moore has been performing beyond expectations, and Mikheyev stands out the most to me just because we already knew what Kerfoot and Moore were capable of.

Having Mikheyev come into the league with no NHL experience and playing the way he’s been playing has been really nice to see. If he keeps it up, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on getting some time alongside either Auston Matthews or John Tavares.

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