Nikita Zaitsev
After recording 36 points (four goals and 32 assists) in his rookie year back in 2016-17, former general manager Lou Lamoriello gave Nikita Zaitsev a seven year, $31.5 million contract.
That contract ended up being absolutely horrible as he never came close to replicating that kind of production and was ultimately shipped to Ottawa as a salary dump.
In his last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018-19, Zaitsev appeared in 81 games scoring three goals and only helping on 11 while spending an average of 20:28 a night on the ice. He took 71 shots on goal but did get 139 hits and blocked 151 shots.
In his first season with Ottawa, he played in 58 games scoring a goal with 11 assists while averaging 22:09 a night on the ice. He took 64 shots on net while recording 108 hits and 121 blocks.
Despite averaging more ice time a night with the Senators, he had a better season with the Leafs. Leafs fans should be happy they were able to get rid of his contract as the Senators are stuck with paying him for another four years.
Par Lindholm
In 2018-19 with the Leafs, Lindholm scored only one goal along with 11 assists while averaging 11:27 of ice time. He got also got 60 shots on net.
While he spent majority of the 2018-19 season in Toronto, he played in four games in a Winnipeg Jets jersey where recorded an assist.
This past season, he played on the Boston Bruins where he appeared in 40 games with three goals and assists apiece while taking 35 shots on net and averaging 11:15 a night.
He played better in the blue and white (as well as the Jets) than he did with the Bruins as he had a bigger role offensively in 2018-19.
All in all, with the exception of Nazem Kadri, the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t really miss any of these players.