Non-Qualified Players the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Try to Sign

The Toronto Maple Leafs over the past few seasons have been big on signing 1-year deals in free agency with players such as Tyler Ennis that provide extra depth for the bottom of the lineup.

When free agency begins, there are plenty of opportunities for the Toronto Maple Leafs to address their needs with players who haven’t been qualified by their respective teams.

The qualifying round loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets made note of the the issue with depth on forward that the Leafs appear to have. The bottom-6 only came out with one goal in 5 games while not particularly exemplifying the strong defensive presence that a bottom-6 such as the Blue Jackets present.

Tomorrow represents an opportunity for Kyle Dubas to acquire some strong players to help round out the Leafs bottom-6.  There are five players that Dubas should absolutely take a look at.

The first two players we will look at will be players who could be a good fit for the third line.

Dominik Kahun

Dominik Kahun has been an effective bottom-6 forward for both the Buffalo Sabers and the Chicago Blackhawks over the past few seasons. Kahun is a player who is decent defensively especially compared to his teammates. Kahun is effective at generating goals, this is mostly due to his high level passing ability and vision.

With the poor teammates that Kahun has been forced to play with, he has still be able to put up primary assists at a first line rate over the past 3 seasons. I can imagine Kahun’s presence being perfect for a player such as Nick Robertson who is a sniper and plays well with playmakers such as Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Semyon Der-Arguchintsev.

Kahun also has the versatility to playe either center or wing which is always a bonus for where injuries come up.

Here is how his overall impact look analytically. Charts from @JFreshHockey with stats from Evolving-hockey.com.

"Kahun"

If Kahun is interested in signing an inexpensive deal, the Toronto Maple Leafs should absolutely be in on him as he would bring great value to the team.

Dominik Simon

To continue the trend with the first name of Dominik.

Dominik Simon is a player who is intriguing in a way that he is coming off a major down season with the Pittsburgh Penguins but the season prior he was one of the best defensive players in the league. Simon has shown ability to be able to be the main guy in transition on and off the puck on Pittsburgh’s third line in the past.

The Toronto Maple Leafs could use a guy who can bring a solid defensive presence if Simon is able to bounce back from a down year. Simon is only 26 so there is optimism for him to rebound.

Simon is not a guy to bring in for his offensive ability but rather for his ability to suppress chances against. The Leafs have lacked a strong defensive presence in the bottom-6 for a while now and Simon could be a guy that bring that defensive demeanor the Toronto Maple Leafs could use.

Here is Simon’s player card from @JFreshHockey

"Simon"

As you can see (in the middle section of the chart) that in 18-19, Simon’s numbers were extremely good and if there is any chance he can come close to that level of effectiveness again he could bring tremendous value to the team.

Signing Simon to a deal close to league minimum could be a no-risk, high-upside move that could help guide the Leafs in the right direction.

With the likes of Simon and Kahun, that makes up the list of unqualified players that may be able to fill a role on the third line. Moving on we will look at depth options that could provide great value for the fourth line.

With the Leafs moving on from Frederik Gauthier along with a few other players there should be room for more guys to compete for a depth role.  It is always a positive to have as much depth as possible, and there are a few guys that could be effective in a depth role that might be available tomorrow.

Nick Cousins

Nick Cousins has been a member of some of the most effective fourth lines in the NHL at 5v5 over the past short while.

Cousins has shown the ability to be effective with and without the puck. Cousins ability to score goals isn’t good by any means but he is able to drive the play creating chances for his team that can result in momentum for the players going on the next shift.

Here is Cousins’ player chart from @JFreshHockey

"Cousins"

Lucas Wallmark

Lucas Wallmark is a player who can bring the typical defensive presence needed on a fourth line. Wallmark will not be any sort of gamebreaker but he can provide some solid value at the bottom of the lineup. Wallmark has been one of the better players at limiting goals against and could be a useful player to the Leafs simply for that reason.

Here is Wallmark’s player chart from @JFreshHockey

"Wallmark"

Mark Jankowski

Mark Jankowski is unsurprisingly another typical fourth line player who can suppress goals against well but doesn’t score much at all. Besides Jankowski’s ability to prevent goals against at a high level at 5v5, he is also one of the more effective penalty killers which is something that may be valuable to the Leafs.

Jankowski was rumored to be a part of a trade that got scratched last offseason so I would not be surprised if Dubas were to add him to the Leafs depth chart.

Here is Jankowski’s player chart from @JFreshHockey 

"Jankowski"

This past season seemed as if it was a bit of a down year for Jankowski but he still provided respectable value for a fourth line player who can also penalty kill effectively. Jankowski concludes the list of unqualified players that the Leafs could use to round out the bottom-6.

Any of these options I glimpsed over would be a huge upgrade on Gauthier while providing the much-needed depth aspect that is important for deep runs in the playoffs and when injuries inevitably occur.

Hopefully Kyle Dubas takes a hard look at some of these players in free agency to bring more balance to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup.