Grading Every Toronto Maple Leafs Offseason Move

Malgin Re-signed

A few days prior to the 2020 trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Denis Malgin from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Mason Marchment.

Throughout the whole 2020 season, he registered four goals and eight assists in 44 games although all of those points came with the Panthers (36 games).

Malgin may not have put up any points, but he impressed enough to be brought him back on a one year deal for the league minimum of $700,000.

He’s an NHL player but likely won’t be on the team unless there are injuries, a decent enough depth option.

Grade: C+

Spezza Re-signed

When Jason Spezza signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs last offseason, he came for two reasons, to play for his hometown team and more importantly, to win a Stanley Cup which he has yet to achieve in his long career.

He put up 25 points in 2019-20, nine goals and 16 assists in his age 36 season. While he played quality fourth line minutes, he brought an important trait to the Leafs in the clubhouse which was veteran leadership. Someone like Spezza has seen it all in his NHL career and was able to be a leader for the young guys on the team.

They brought him back on an identical contract as last season, a league minimum deal for $700,000. A win-win deal that benefits both the player and the team.

Grade: B+

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 28: Wayne Simmonds #17 of the Buffalo Sabres  (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

A player with grit

One of the Toronto Maple Leafs biggest needs was grit and toughness. To address this, the Leafs signed Wayne Simmonds to a one year deal worth $1.5 million. Obviously team toughness doesn’t come from one guy playing on the fourth line, but it is possible that Simmonds’ style rubs off on the Leafs younger players.

Simmonds will not only bring toughness to this team which they have lacked for the past little while but he can also play some solid hockey. He totaled 25 points in 68 games with two rebuilding teams in the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres last season.

Expect Simmonds to have a better season now that he’s playing for a Stanley Cup contender.

Grade: A+

Addition to the Blueline

Another weakness on the Maple Leafs was the blue-line, specifically they needed a player to play with Morgan Rielly.

With guys like Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci departing via free agency (as expected), it only made the urgency to get blue line help more urgent. Dubas went out and signed T.J. Brodie who he longed admired for as a target for the Leafs blue line. Now, Morgan Rielly gets the best partner he’s ever had in his career.

In Brodie’s ongoing 10 year career which has all been spent with the Calgary Flames, he’s put up 266 points but he’s known more for his defensive abilities and instincts which is what the Leafs needed.

His contract is for four years and $20 million. Some may say it’s a year too much but it will definitely help the Leafs blue line over those four years.

Grade: B

Andreas Johnsson Trade

While the rest of the hockey world predicted that the Leafs would be hamstrung by their concentrated spending on forwards, the Leafs knew they would be fine due to the flexibility provided by having Kapanen and Johnsson on team-friendly deals, and having cheaper players (Robertson, Barabanov) ready to replace them.

Johnsson was signed to a three year deal with an average annual value of $3.4 million a year last offseason when he was a restricted free agent himself.

In 125 games with the Leafs, he scored 30 goals while putting up 37 assists with a shooting percentage of 13.2 percent. He had a down year in 2019-20 compared to the 2018-19 season but he also appeared in 30 less games.

Anderson, who the Leafs got in return, has just 52 NHL games to his record with just 13 points. He’s a player that has bounced between the AHL and NHL since his debut two seasons ago.

The Leafs gave Anderson a three year, two way deal with only the third year of the deal being a guaranteed NHL contract. He will earn $750,000 each year.

Anderson is probably a longshot to make the Leafs this year, but he’s younger and cheaper than Johnsson and may one day be better, who knows? The Leafs did have to sell low on Johnsson and that brings the grade down.

Final grade: C

Additional Blue-Line Help

As two defensemen left via free agency, the team needed two new players to fill those empty roles. While they could have used what they have within the organization with the likes of Rasmus Sandin, Timothy Liljegren and Mikko Lehtonen that could fill those empty roles, the time to win is now and the Maple Leafs needed an established, accomplished player.

As if Brodie wasn’t enough, they signed Zach Bogosian to a one year deal worth $1 million. Bogosian is coming off a Stanley Cup run with the Tampa Bay Lightning and will make the young Leafs hungry to make their own deep playoff run.

In the 2019-20 regular season with the Sabres and Lightning, he played in 27 games getting only seven points (one goal). In the playoffs, he got four points (all assists) in 20 games while garnering a total of 44 hits. He also took 42 shots on net which is a pretty good number for a second line defenseman.

Bogosian will also bring veteran experience to a young Leafs defensive corps that lacks a player that has been through it all in his career. Bogosian, who was around back when the Atlanta Thrashers were a team as he played for them, will bring 12 years of NHL experience to the Leafs blue line.

In his 12 year career, he’s tallied 196 points in 644 games while spending a total of 597 minutes in the penalty box. He’s also recorded 1,133 hits and has blocked 948 shots.

Not only will Bogosian be a body to put on the blue line but he will also be another source of toughness which will be beneficial when Simmonds is not on the ice.

Grade: A

Low risk, high reward

Low risk, high reward players are always intriguing as if they exceed expectations, it only makes the team better which gives them another quality player they can rely on. If the player doesn’t pan out though, it doesn’t affect the team much as they weren’t expecting too much out of him anyways.

That’s exactly the situation regarding Jimmy Vesey who the Toronto Maple Leafs signed for $900,000 for the upcoming season. The former Hobey Baker award winner hasn’t been able to translate his success from college to the pros but the Leafs are hoping they can bring the best out of him.

He could find his groove with the Leafs as he could reunite with former college teammate Alexander Kerfoot but where he’ll be playing has yet to be determined.

He’s only on a one year commitment and the Leafs will hope for the best out of him but if he doesn’t do well, there are other guys that he can be replaced with.

Grade: B+

Crease insurance

Before the Leafs acquired Jack Campbell from the Los Angeles Kings last offseason, a backup goalie was a huge need for the team.

While Campbell is still under contract for another two years, the Leafs were able to land Aaron Dell on a one year, $800,000 deal. He was brought in simply to be an insurance player in case Frederik Andersen or Campbell go down with an injury.

Serving as the backup to Martin Jones on the San Jose Sharks for the past four seasons, Dell has a career record of 89-48-34 with a GAA of 2.76 and a save percentage of .908.

Goaltender depth will be crucial for this particular season as the NHL may look to cram in as many games as possible in a short time period. This is a great signing and while Dell will start the season with the Toronto Marlies, he should be up with the big club at some point during the season.

Grade: A

Veteran presence

As the Leafs are a pretty young team, three of their core four are under the age of 25, they need a true veteran leader. While they have a captain in John Tavares and brought back Spezza who’s 37, someone a little older would have been a perfect fit to truly mentor the young guys.

It worked out really well when they experimented adding a veteran presence in Patrick Marleau. Marleau bonded really well with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner and while the veteran is no longer apart of the organization today, the bond between the three stands strong.

As the only thing that prevented the partnership between Marleau and the Leafs continuing was money on his previous contract, the front office sought out a different veteran. While they could have brought back Marleau, they signed his long time teammate Joe Thornton who’s known by the name Jumbo Joe.

In his age 40 season with the Sharks, he scored seven goals with 24 assists which proves that he can still perform at a solid level, especially for his age. He should have no problem centering the fourth line with the Leafs.

Thornton has had an illustrious career that includes multiple all-star appearances, a Hart Memorial Trophy as well as an Art Ross Trophy. His gold medal with Canada at the 2010 Olympics also can’t be forgotten. All that’s missing is a Stanley Cup. Let’s hope he can get that with the Leafs this season so he can ride off into the sunset.

Grade: B

Scott Sabourin

The Leafs inked Scott Sabourin to a one year deal to play for the Marlies. He’s a player who has NHL experience and will be called upon if the forwards get banged up. If he ever does get called up to play for the Leafs, he will be able to provide the team with a gritty player.

Last season with the Ottawa Senators, the now 28-year-old Sabourin played in 35 games scoring two goals and four assists with 74 hits recorded. This was his first ever season in the NHL.

Unlike the Senators, the Leafs don’t have a starting spot on the roster for a placeholder player like Sabourin as they’re not rebuilding and are trying to win now.

In his AHL career, he’s played in 308 games recording 77 points with 646 penalty minutes. He’s had three seasons where he’s spent more than 100 minutes in the box.

One thing Leafs fans will always remember about Sabourin is this moment with Matthews during last preseason.

Grade: D

Travis Boyd

Unlike Sabourin, Travis Boyd was signed to a NHL contract for $700,000. Boyd has spent three seasons in the NHL all with the Washington Capitals. He has played in 85 games scoring just eight goals with 23 assists and wins faceoffs at a rate of 39.5%.

Boyd was simply a depth signing as he falls behind four different centres on the roster. Expect to see him healthy scratched often and will only play if a centreman gets injured.

Grade: C-

Ilya Mikheyev

When the Leafs brought over Ilya Mikheyev from Russia prior to the 2019-20 campaign, no one expected much out of him. He registered 45 points in 62 games in the KHL for the 2018-19 season but was more than unlikely to come close to that point total against the best of the best in the NHL.

He was simply a player that the Leafs were going to put in a bottom six role. Once he found his footing with the team, he became a fan favourite among the blue and white faithful which gave him the nickname of soup due to his liking of the dish.

He appeared in 39 games recording 23 points (eight goals and 15 assists). His performance led to him being an early contender for the Calder Memorial Trophy which is handed out to the best rookie each year but his play eventually cooled down. It also didn’t help with the fact that he suffered a wrist laceration during a game which forced him to miss three months.

As he was a restricted free agent, the team had full control of his destiny. They were set to head to arbitration over his salary but at the eleventh hour, they struck an agreement on a contract. At first, his contract would have put the team over the salary cap so Dubas asked to alter his contract a little bit which he obliged.

The deal is for two years and $3.29 million which will get him $1.645 million a year. A fair value for a player of Mikheyev’s role.

Grade: B+

Loyal to the blue

With the Toronto Maple Leafs tight against the cap and the fact that Brodie and Bogosian were brought to Toronto, there were talks about potentially trading Dermott as he was expected to demand money that would have made the team extremely cash strapped.

The two sides were able to figure things out though as they agreed to a one year contract worth $874,125. A bargain deal for the Leafs and gets Dermott back on the ice without the potential of a contract holdout.

Ever since being drafted with the 34th overall pick in 2015, Dermott has been a reliable and capable defensive player on the Leafs blue line. While not the biggest contributor on the offensive side of things, just nine goals and 41 points in 157 career games, Dermott can really play defense and isn’t afraid to get into skirmishes while on the ice if needed.

Despite his contract being just one year, he should remain with the Leafs for the foreseeable future as he’s just 23 years old and is still a restricted free agent at the end of this season.

As the Leafs had little money to give out, it’s unlikely they were able to discuss a long term extension with him but it’s very possible they will next offseason when $13.65 million will be available.

The Leafs probably have Dermott as part of their future plans but for now, a one year deal will to for both sides to keep the 23-year-old in his hometown.

Grade: A+

Reuniting with an Ex

The Toronto Maple Leafs may have the most goaltending depth they’ve ever had in franchise history. They have Andersen and Campbell with them at the NHL level and signed Dell to a contract as insurance in case any of the two primary goaltenders get injured. They also have Ian Scott and Joseph Woll developing in the minors with the purpose of potentially utilizing them in the future.

The Leafs weren’t done there though. They signed Michael Hutchinson who was with the team for 20 games (16 starts) over the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. They gave him a two year deal for $1.45 million earning him $725,000 a year.

When Hutchinson was with the Leafs, he didn’t have a great tenure. He went 6-12-1 with a save percentage of .894 and a GAA of 3.38 which aren’t great numbers. He was eventually shipped to the Colorado Avalanche at the deadline for Calle Rosen.

Fans were surprised when the team brought Hutchinson back and were even more shocked when they gave him a two year deal but makes sense when you map it all out.

Andersen becomes a free agent at the conclusion of this season and so does Dell. That will leave the Leafs with Campbell and Hutchinson under contract in net for the 2021-22 season. Also, the Leafs will need to protect a goalie for the expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken which they will for sure keep Campbell leaving Hutchinson exposed to be selected.

Grade: C-

Conclusion

The Toronto Maple Leafs had quite the offseason. They were able to fill their weaknesses, add to their strengths and were able to assemble their roster while staying under the flat cap of $81.5 million.

The blue line looks to be in the best shape that it’s been in years with the addition of Brodie, who’s with the team for the long term and Bogosian who brings Stanley Cup experience.

A veteran was added in Thornton who will provide the Toronto Maple Leafs a true leader and mentor in the locker room. As goaltending depth was a problem for the past few seasons, the Leafs have tremendous goaltending depth as they signed two goalies with experience playing at the NHL level.

If you combine all the grades I gave out together, you can tell that the Toronto Maple Leafs had a great offseason. Here are all the grades given out by their letter range:

A: 5
B: 5
C: 4
D: 1

Of the 15 moves they did, 10 got a grade of B- or better while only one move, the signing of Sabourin was given a D. Not one move was given a grade of F.

What an offseason for the Maple Leafs.

Overall grade: A-