The Toronto Maple Leafs’ success with European free agents has been iffy.
Over the course of the last three years or so, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed a crop of players out of European pro leagues. Here’s a rundown of who the Leafs have brought overseas over the past few years.
Nikita Zaitsev (D)
Calle Rosen (D)
Andreas Borgman (D)
Miro Aaltonen (F)
Par Lindholm (F)
Igor Ozhiganov (D)
Ilya Mikheyev (F)
Out of all of these players, the only one the Leafs really hit on was Ilya Mikheyev. They got only one good year out of Nikita Zaitsev, and the other five never really found their stride with the organization.
Mikheyev on the other hand has impressed through his short sample size this year with seven points through his first nine games. This poses the idea that while you never know what you’re getting in European free agents, there’s always the chance that you’ll strike gold.
It’s clear that Kyle Dubas recognizes this, because the Toronto Maple Leafs are now in pursuit of another Russian free agent. This time around, it’s a guy by the name of Konstantin Okulov.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Konstantin Okulov
Okulov is a late bloomer coming out of the KHL who’s currently in his third season with CSKA Moscow and his fifth pro season overall. He had a strong finish last season with 31 points in 48 games and he’s off to an even hotter start this year, notching 13 points through his first 17 games. He’s listed at 6’0 and 185lbs and can play all three forward positions, with centre being his primary.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston originally reported this, deeming the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens as the heavy favourites to land Okulov and bring him over to North America. He also stated that while there’s tons of interest in Okulov around the league, other teams are wondering if it’s even worth engaging with his camp because of the lead Toronto and Montreal have.
What this tells me is that we’re going to be seeing Okulov not just in the NHL next season, but in the Atlantic division. Whether it’s with Toronto or Montreal is up in the air, but the fact that some teams are actually backing off because they aren’t confident they’ll even have a chance is pretty interesting.
The question is, if the Leafs DO sign him, where does he fit into the lineup next season? My idea would be somewhere on the third line. Both Okulov and Alex Kerfoot can play any forward position, so there’s potential for something to work out there.
This would also likely mean the team having to move a forward such as Kasperi Kapanen, considering their top nine is already more or less loaded.
(All information obtained from eliteprospects.com and sportsnet.ca)
It’s obviously way too early to be speculating over something like this, but it’s going to be an interesting story to keep tabs on and watch develop. Okulov is extremely talented offensively and has potential to be a star in the NHL.