The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t make a big splash at the NHL trade deadline.
For the second year in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs made a big splash several weeks before the NHL’s tradedeadline by making a trade with the L.A Kings.
This year they brought in Kyle Clifford and Jack Campbell. Last year it was Jake Muzzin.
And just like last year when the only move they made at the deadline was picking up Nic Petan, this year they grabbed another diminutive centre in Denis Malgin.
So is he any good?
Toronto Maple Leafs and Denis Malgin
So far in his career playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Malgin has picked up zero goals and zero assists in eight games.
For a lot of people, that, combined with his size (he’s just 5’9″), will be enough to write him off.
But I don’t think that would be wise. To my eye, Malgin has looked pretty good as both a complimentary player on the Tavares line, and on the fourth line.
He’s fast, tenacious and isn’t afraid to carry the puck.
But he also hasn’t scored.
The sample size is short (which also means it’s too early to write him off) but the peripheral numbers are a lot better than the counting stats.
Malgin has a 53.29 CF% since joining the Toronto Maple Leafs, which is a solid possession number (and in line with what he posted in FLA).
The Leafs have also picked up 53% of the shots, and 53% of the scoring chances while he has been on the ice.
The goals-for percentage and the high-danger numbers are not good, but these are stats that take an extremely long time to build usable sample sizes. (For example, he’s been on the ice for only five goals in total, but almost 200 shot-attempts).
If we look at Malgin’s percentages, we can quickly get an idea of why he looks good but hasn’t gotten any results – his on-ice shooting percentage is under 3%, while his PDO is just 91.
His play deserves better results than he has gotten.
In the trade for Mason Marchment, the Toronto Maple Leafs got the younger player, and the more skilled player. Malgin is quite clearly a capable NHL player, and like Pierre Engval, Nic Petan or Kenny Agostino, he provides an upgrade over most NHL fourth liners, while be versatile enough to move up the lineup if necessary.
A healthy Leafs team probably won’t need to skate Malgin on a line with Tavares and Nylander, but it’s nice to know he won’t look out of place when that becomes necessary.
Kyle Clifford got the hype, but Malgiin has significantly better stats so far, and he might end up being the more important acquisition. He’s small but he plays bigger, and if he pots a few goals he might just find himself becoming a fan favorite.