#3. Zach Sanford
Why not replace one Zach with another one? This is like when a TV show replaces the character with another actor but keeps the character the same person. Nobody will notice a difference!
Sanford is a little less offensively gifted than Hyman, but if you put him on the top-line in Toronto, it’s possible he could get similar production. I mean, I think you could put me on that line and I would score 10 goals per season and I’m a pylon.
The 25-year-old is a little bigger than Hyman at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds and could be a great complement to Matthews and Marner. Although he’s not much of an enforcer, that size is important for retrieving pucks and having a net-front presence.
Currently making $1.5M, unless Sanford has a 30-goal season, the Toronto Maple Leafs could probably sign him for similar money, if not less than the $2.25M that Hyman is currently making. That’s critical because if the team can get a similar player as Hyman for his current price-tag, that would help fill other holes in the line-up.
Sanford was also a contributor with St. Louis when they won the Stanley Cup in 2019, so that experience always helps when deciding what player to sign.