Toronto Maple Leafs: 5 Players to Replace Zach Hyman

#5. Alex Kerfoot

Kerfoot is typically a centre, but has played left-wing in the past. Currently on the books at $3.5M for the next two seasons, Kerfoot could be a good replacement on the first-line beside Auston Matthews.

Kerfoot got a lot of backlash last season because he was too often compared to Nazem Kadri. If the Leafs had signed Kerfoot instead of traded for him, I think the narrative would have been a lot different because he is a completely different player than the one he was traded for.

Probably the best defensive forward  on the Leafs, he’s the perfect match with the offensive threat of Matthews and Marner. Kerfoot can also chip in with a few goals and probably provide the same offense as Hyman did. Last season Kerfoot scored at the same rate as John Tavares did during 5v5 play.

In 222 career NHL games, he’s scored 43 goals and had 113 points, but you’d have to imagine that number would rise playing with one of the best centre’s in the league. Just look what Matthews did to Hyman’s career by playing with nightly already. Although Hyman deserves credit for working hard, he’s been a beneficiary to his line-mates as well.

The whole narrative of Kerfoot’s career in Toronto would change if he was paired on the top-line every night and he could easily score 20 goals a season, replacing the production that Hyman provided.