4. Justin Holl – 28 years old – D
Contract – $675K signed through the 2019-20 season, new contract $2M kicks in the 2020-21 season and signed through the 2022-23 season. (Stats from CapFriendly.com)
At my number four spot I have defensemen Justin Holl, and boy what a journey it has been for Justin Holl to make it as a full timer in the NHL. Holl finally can consider himself as a full time NHL player even though he is already 28 years old.
From the 2017-18 season until last year Holl wasn’t given the chance to play a lot of games as he only suited up for 13 games in the two years, and was sat in the press box for the remaining games.
The reason why Justin Holl is on this list and that I consider him as an underrated Maple Leaf is because the immediate impact he brought to this Toronto Maple Leafs team towards the end of Babcock’s tenure.
He solidified himself as a top 4 defensemen paired with Jake Muzzin to shut the other teams top guys out, and has done an excellent job at it. He went from playing 12 minutes a night to averaging 18:30 a night.
It’s kind of a bummer he finally got his crack at a full time NHLer at the age of 28 instead of getting a chance sooner, but its great to have him here on the team and especially being a right handed defensemen, that’s for sure.
2019-20 stats – 68 GP – 2 G – 16 A – 18 PTS (Stats from NHL.com)