5 Former Toronto Maple Leafs Who Could Return in Free Agency
The Toronto Maple Leafs may look to re-sign a few familiar names in free agency this off-season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had multiple players leave the team then return a few years later. Even some of the greatest players in Leafs history have left and returned. Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour, Curtis Joseph and Steve Thomas are all recent examples of players who have came back years later.
When you’re a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, you’re part of hockey royalty. There’s no franchise in the NHL that treats their players better than the Leafs. They have everything you need and it’s one of the best places to live in North America.
There’s a reason why players are happy to return when they leave. With free agency looming, the Leafs are most likely going to be busy this off-season. The team will need to sign a few inexpensive contracts in order to fill out their bottom-six forwards.
If they’re smart, they’ll use a higher percentage of their cap-space to get more defensive help than offensive support, so the forwards they bring in will have to be cheap. What better way to re-sign a player to a lesser contract than one who’s already been a Leaf?
After seeing how other NHL franchises operate, they may miss the amenities and world-class treatment that MLSE provides, so they could also be open to a discount deal. Especially with a team that is only a few pieces away from being a Stanley Cup contender.
Here are five former Leafs that could re-sign with the team this off-season.
#5. Josh Leivo
During his time with the Toronto Marlies, Leivo was one of the most productive players for Sheldon Keefe. However, when he was called up to the Leafs, Mike Babcock didn’t give Leivo much of an opportunity.
During his time in Toronto, he was always criticized for his skating ability, but I never saw that as much of an issue. He doesn’t have Connor McDavid speed, but he can fly down the wing and fire one past the goaltender.
Just go check out this goal against Carolina when Leivo was a member of the Leafs. He clearly had some game. Leivo is a local kid, as he grew up roughly an hour north of Toronto and as an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA), he could be very interested in returning home. After getting traded to Vancouver, he showed that he can be a productive player if he plays every night.
The Leafs left-wing position has room right now and depending on the price, Leivo could fit in very well as a third or fourth line player.
#4. Ron Hainsey
Someone call Morgan Rielly and let him know that Ron Hainsey is a Free Agent! Despite the numbers saying otherwise, people still credit Hainsey for Rielly’s success two years ago.
Rielly did have his two best offensive seasons of his career when paired with Hainsey every night, but he also spent most of the past year playing through an injury, and the numbers have always said he does better away from Hainsey. Still, the freedom of having a security blanket beside him made him able to rush the puck up the ice and create scoring chances.could help him rebound next season.
Although Hainsey is 39-years-old, he still averaged 20 minutes of ice-time per night with the Ottawa Senators, though no one can really say why. The one problem with Hainsey will definitely be his salary. He received a pay-raise last year making $3.5 million and the Senators have more than enough cap-space to re-sign him to the same deal, which is a massive overpayment for what he brings to the table.
If Toronto would even consider this, and that is extremely doubtful, they certainly couldn’t pay him more than the league minimum.
Hainsey is left-handed but is a right-side defenseman and hasn’t been good for years, but maybe the Leafs would like to bring him back for sentimental reasons?
#3. Greg McKegg
McKegg was an incredible junior hockey player and when the Leafs originally drafted him in the third round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the team thought they were getting a steal.
However, McKegg played three seasons with the Toronto Marlies and was only able to play four regular season games with the Leafs before getting traded to Florida. Trading McKegg was one of the greatest deals in Leafs history, though.
In a one-for-one deal, the Toronto Maple Leafs were able to acquire Zach Hyman thanks to McKegg, but it may be time for a reunion.
Since McKegg was traded, he’s bounced between five NHL rosters but hasn’t found a true home. Despite having to pack his suitcase every off-season, he’s been a steady player over the past few seasons with Carolina and New York.
McKegg will most likely take the league minimum ($750K) and the Leafs could use that value as a fourth-line centre. If Jason Spezza doesn’t want to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a similar price or if the Leafs don’t want him back, McKegg could be a good option.
#2. Brian Boyle
Although he only spent 21 of his 805 career NHL games as a member of the Leafs, Boyle was a great addition to the team.
The 6-foot-6, 245 pound centre brings a different element to the Leafs line-up that they’re missing. He’s not afraid to fight and hit and is a smart hockey player that can help on the penalty kill as well.
He also has a solid face-off percentage, which is extremely important as a fourth-line centre.
Boyle has bounced around the NHL a little bit over the past few seasons, but any team would be lucky to have him, even at 35-years-old. Depending on which direction the Leafs want to go with their fourth-line centre position, Boyle would be an intriguing option.
He would be a similar price to McKegg or Spezza, but he would also provide that different element of sandpaper, which I previously alluded to.
His offensive numbers have been down over the past two seasons, but they could soar on a Leafs team that has a lot of skill, even on their fourth-line.
#1. Matt Martin
Over the past few seasons, Leafs fans have been yelling about grit and toughness.
“We need someone like Tom Wilson or a guy who isn’t afraid to drop the gloves!” “There’s way too much skill on this team.”
“That’s not going to work in the playoffs”, they would yell.
Well, the team had a guy like that, but they shipped him away for an ECHL goaltender named Eamon McAdam. The thing about Matt Martin is that it was more about his protection and mentor-ship to Mitch Marner than his on-ice play. When Martin was with the Leafs, those two guys were joined at the hip and were best friends.
Having someone who can look out for guys like that is still important in the NHL. Although there aren’t as many fights, you want to look down your bench and know that if something happens, there’s a guy there to protect everyone. That’s what Matt Martin provides and it would be great to see him back in Toronto.
The New York Islanders have limited cap-space and need to re-sign Mathew Barzal, so re-signing Martin may not be a huge priority to them, even though he’s on the best fourth-line in hockey.
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If he’s willing to sign for $1 million in Toronto, he could be a great addition to the fourth-line and provide a huge spark to the Leafs, making Marner and company very happy.