Toronto Maple Leafs: Zach Hyman’s Rise to Goal-Scoring Winger

When the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Zach Hyman from the Florida Panthers, they didn’t anticipate his play that was fast-approaching.

The thought from the Toronto Maple Leafs was that Hyman would transform into the go-getting type of player he is. But they didn’t expect what was to come next.

When Hyman was young, he had his mind set on one day playing in the NHL. There was always high expectations, especially from himself.

One of his toughest stretches was at Michigan University where he only totaled nine points in each of his first two seasons. That however, didn’t stop him from reaching for the stars.

“What am I gonna do?” Hyman said on the Connor Carrick Podcast after his second year in college. “Am I gonna sit here and sulk and cry about it, or am I just gonna keep putting my foot on the gas and keep going?”

That summer, Hyman worked hard, and by the end of his junior year he had 17 points in 35 games. Later, in his final year at Michigan University, Hyman finished with 54 points in 37 games.

Fast forward to 2015, he would be traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he’d play his first NHL game on February 29th against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I remember going out there for the first shift, and come back to the bench out of breath,” said Hyman later in the podcast, “like I’m in shape, why am I out of breath? And it’s just because everything’s going, your nerves — every stride you take is 100 percent.”

Watching him throughout the years, you always notice that Hyman puts in 100 percent at all times.

Throughout his part-of five seasons on the Toronto Maple Leafs, we’ve witnessed Hyman go from  life alongside Auston Matthews, to then go to John Tavares’ wing and then back to the Matthews line.

He’s taking his strides in the NHL to get comfortable like he did in college. Get a feel of what it takes, then go improve and come back stronger and better.

After having back-to-back seasons with 40+ points, Hyman was ready to make a change this year. He came into this season late after having off season surgery to repair a torn ACL that he suffered against the Boston Bruins in the playoffs.

Once he returned, he was ready to make his mark — scoring 21 goals and adding 16 assists in 51 games. Although it’s been a shortened season, it was Hyman’s most successful one yet.

Clearly cementing himself as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ best left-winger, Hyman has one more year left on his four-year, 2.25 million dollar contract.

When the final portion of this season rolls around, he and the Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking to make a deep run in the playoffs. The same goes for next season as well.

But what comes after that?

Does Hyman take a step back like he did after college to look over his options and think about what’s best for him? Or do the Toronto Maple Leafs re-sign him before it gets to that point?