Welcome to part 4 of the Toronto Maple Leafs Depth Chart series.
The position of left wing is probably to weakest position that the Toronto Maple Leafs will have going into this shortened season. It lacks the same level of talent found at the team’s right wing position.
Although some right wingers can play on the left side and many times do, I’ll only be looking at players who generally play only on the left wing. One thing that could change the entire situation is William Nylander, who played some left wing in the playoffs and is said to prefer a switch. Since he has mostly played right wing or centre, however, we will consider him a right winger for now.
The good thing for the Leafs is that the left wingers on their top two lines have worked out well for them. They have Zach Hyman on the top line and Ilya Mikheyev on the second line. Both players, although not highly talented, bring something to their lines that just seems to work well for them and their linemates.
Toronto Maple Leafs Depth At Left Wing
Zach Hyman
Hyman has been a very consistent player for the Toronto Maple Leafs and during his five years with the team has continued to show improvement. The past two seasons have seen Hyman reach 21 goals which is hi career high. He would have likely set a new career high if the 2019-20 season had not been stopped short due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
In his first full season with the Leafs during the 2016-17 season 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points in 82 games. Then during the 2017-18 season, his point totals jumped to 15 goals and 25 assists for 40 points in 82 games.
During the 2018-19 season, Hyman only played in 71 games, but still saw a slight increase in his overall point totals. He scored 21 goals for a new career high and added 20 assists for 41 points. He reached the 21 goal mark again this past season along with 16 assists for 37 points in 51 games.
It is safe to say that if the 2019-20 season did not get stopped by the pandemic, Hyman would have set career highs for goals, assists and points. This season is the final season on Hyman’s current contract and it will also be a shortened season. You can bet he will want to make the most of it. (All Stats: hockey-reference.com)
Ilya Mikheyev
There was a lot of hype surrounding Mikheyev when the Toronto Maple Leafs signed him during the summer of 2019. The then 24 year-old had put up 45 points in 62 games for Avangard Omsk in the KHL.
He signed a one year deal worth $925,000 to play in Toronto for the 2019-20 season. Before his gruesome wrist injury on December 27th, 2019, the Russian was having a good season with eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in 39 games. Mikheyev was on pace for 16 goals and 31 assists for 47 points in 82 games.
As a Restricted Free Agent (RFA) he re-signed with the Leafs on a new two year deal worth $1.645 million. He will be looking to build off of last season while trying to cement himself in the Leafs top six.
Nicholas Robertson
After scoring 55 points in 54 games for the Peterborough Petes during the 2018-19 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Robertson in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft with the 53rd overall pick.
During the 2019-20 season, Robertson showed that Toronto getting him in the second round was a steal. He scored 55 goals and 31 assists for 86 points in 46 games. Those 55 goals made him the leading goal scorer in the OHL last season.
He has proven that he is too good to be sent back to the OHL, so look for Robertson to try and win a roster spot in training camp. He may seem destined to start on the third line, but he is the type of player who could easily move into the top six sooner than later.
Jimmy Vesey
Back in 2016 when Vesey was a Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) out of Harvard University, many teams were trying to sign him, including the Leafs. Vesey ended up choosing to sign with the New York Rangers.
With the Rangers, Vesey recorded 50 goals and 40 assists for 90 points in 240 games over three seasons. He then got traded to the Buffalo Sabres on July 1st, 2019 for a 2021 third round pick. During his one season in Buffalo, Vesey scored nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 64 games.
Now the 27 year-old is a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs and will be looking to win a job in camp. If he can use his 6’3, 200 lbs frame to bring an edge to the Leafs, as well as score 25-35 points.
Pierre Engvall
Engvall spent most of his first NHL season on Toronto’s fourth line and on the Penalty Kill (PK). He played well enough to get into the lineup for 48 games. He recorded eight goals and seven assists for 15 points.
If Engvall plans on making the team this season he will have to outwork some of the new guys like Vesey, who were brought in through free agency. He also has to worry about younger guys like Robertson and Alexander Barabanov fighting for their chance to play in the NHL full-time.
If it comes down to salary cap implications, Engvall is waivers exempt and is a prime candidate to be sent down to clear cap space.
The Leafs are a deep team and will have other players trying to win a job in training camp. They are Nic Petan, Kenny Agostino and Barabanov. With the NHL having a shortened season for 2020-21 season, there is a small chance that teams can carry a taxi squad. If this happens then I think we can expect at least two of these three players to be on that taxi squad.