After yet another series clinching game for the Toronto Maple Leafs that ended in heartbreak we ask ourselves what is next with this team heading into the off-season?
The Toronto Maple Leafs lost yet another series but this time to the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Hats off to Columbus they played a great series especially their goaltenders, but Toronto was the better team and should’ve won this series.
However with that being said, we ask ourselves what moves do the Leafs need to make to get over the top . So here are three priorities for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the off-season.
3. Re-sign Ilya Mikheyev and Jason Spezza
At my number three spot I have two players that the Toronto Maple Leafs desperately need to re-sign in my opinion, Ilya Mikheyev and Jason Spezza.
Now we all know what kind of seasons these two players had for the team and they were both great seasons, especially for Mikheyev who ended his year short due to injury yet had a very productive first half and Spezza who was in and out of the lineup under Babcock and played a limited role until Keefe came on board still contributed a fair amount.
Ilya Mikheyev 2019-20 stats -39 GP – 8 G – 15 A – 23 PTS – 54.61 CF% (Stats from NHL.com)
Jason Spezza 2019-20 stats – 58 GP – 9 G – 16 A – 25 PTS – 54.55 CF% (Stats from NHL.com)
The reason why these two players are important to lock up for next season is strictly for secondary scoring and for depth on this team.
Both guys can play up and down the lineup but will more than likely be between a 2nd line player and a 4th line player most nights.
I know that Mikheyev didn’t have the greatest series against Columbus but he is still a great player and I believe due to his play against Columbus his extension won’t be as expensive as we thought it would be during the regular season.
For Spezza I would love this guy to come back to his hometown team to try and compete for another Stanley Cup, however seeing him hang his head on the Toronto Maple Leafs bench after their loss to Columbus hit me hard because it’s sad he hasn’t had a chance yet to raise the cup yet.
He wont be expensive at all and I could see him signing for around the same amount he signed for during the 2019-20 season ($700K).