The Toronto Maple Leafs have been connected with several Russian free agents this season, including two former NHLers.
The Russian Kontinental Hockey League is the consensus second best hockey league on the planet behind the NHL. In the past, NHL organizations have been slow to recognize the abundance of talent that the KHL holds. The Toronto Maple Leafs have an opportunity to be ahead of the learning curve.
Multiple tools, including those from @hockeyabstract and Dobbersports.com, have been created based on past data to translate point production from the KHL to the NHL.
Even using the more conservative translations, there were 20 KHL players in 2018-19 whose production would translate to 50 points in an NHL season. As great as Ilya Mikheyev has been for the Leafs this season, not even he qualified for that list.
One player that did qualify for that list is upcoming KHL free agent Mikhail Grigorenko, who has been linked to the Leafs. A 12th overall selection in the 2012 NHL draft, Grigorenko stumbled out of the gates in his NHL career.
After returning to the KHL and regaining his form, Grigorenko scored 30 goals and 73 points in 75 KHL games last season. Now 25 years old, Grigorenko appears poised to make an NHL comeback next season. As per a Russian report, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas has personally met with Grigorenko as well as former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nikita Nesterov.
Another name on the Leafs radar is 24-year-old winger Konstantin Okulov. Okulov’s production in the KHL closely follows that of Ilya Mikheyev before he joined the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.
Multiple teams have reportedly abandoned pursuing Okulov under the impression that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens are the runaway favourites to sign him for next season.
Perhaps the most unique player the Leafs have been linked to is goaltender Timur Bilyalov. Bilyalov is an undersized goaltender, standing only 5 feet 10 inches tall, but is sporting a stunning 0.99 GAA and .960 SV% in 20 games in the KHL this season. He could be a strong candidate to back up the Leafs next season, reducing Frederik Andersen’s workload.
Strong First Impressions
This season’s signing and treatment of Ilya Mikheyev should serve as an example of the impression that the Toronto Maple Leafs want to leave on Russian free agents. Last week, Mikheyev suffered a severe wrist laceration in New Jersey requiring surgery.
Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reported that Kyle Dubas accompanied Mikheyev in hospital for three days, personally buying him clothes and personal items to ensure he was comfortable.
Mikheyev’s agent Dan Milstein was thoroughly impressed by the gesture saying, “Kyle went above and beyond his duty”. As the agent of multiple upcoming KHL free agents, Milstein’s message to KHL players was, “You should know how Toronto took care of this particular accident.”
"“I’ve been saying this since long ago: The Maple Leafs as an organization, the way they recruit is almost like college recruiting. Many (other) teams would say ‘Yeah, well they can afford to do it […] But caring for somebody and treating people like this doesn’t cost any money. Showing support, showing you care, is about a lot more than money.’” – Dan Milstein (Sportsnet)."
The Toronto Maple Leafs have used the international free agent pool extensively in the past, but reports like these give reason to believe that the Toronto Maple Leafs have even bigger plans in mind for the future.
As their reputation soars, Toronto may emerge as a prime destination for KHL free agents in the future.