An ex-member of the Toronto Maple Leafs has just had his rights moved. They now belong to Lou Lamoriello and the New York Islanders.
The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Dmytro Timashov in the fifth round with the 125th pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. It was a decent choice that late in the draft and actually resulted in Toronto getting a player who would later play on their NHL roster.
Timashov had a great deal of experience before ever suiting up for the Maple Leafs. He played in the Swedish junior system, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and the American Hockey League (AHL). He even played for Sweden at the 2016 World Junior Championship (WJC).
With the Maple Leafs in the NHL, Timahov collected four goals and five assists in 39 games. He played all those games last season. With the 5’10” winger set to become a restricted free agent, the Leafs decided to place him on waivers to send him to the Toronto Marlies in the AHL just ahead of the trade deadline.
Timashov to the Islanders
The Detroit Red Wings didn’t allow Timashov to return to the Marlies. Instead, they claimed him off waivers. It was a risk-free acquisition because they didn’t have to give the Leafs anything in return. Playing for the Red Wings, Timashov played in just five games. He didn’t record any points.
On Friday, the Wings decided to move on from the 24-year-old Ukrainian-born Swede. Having not yet worked out a contract with him and his agent, the club shipped his rights to the New York Islanders. Detroit receives future considerations in return.
This will mean that the Islanders’ General Manager, Lou Lamoriello, will now be tasked with working out a deal with Timashov’s representation. Lamoriello is already familiar with the winger from the time they shared in Toronto. Timashov was drafted almost exactly a month before Lamoriello was named as the Leafs GM.
Time will tell whether Timashov is able to find success with his new club but he should get the opportunity to prove whether he can remain a regular on an NHL roster. As far as the Toronto Maple Leafs go, it appears that having Timashov claimed on waivers wasn’t exactly a huge loss , since the team could seemingly have reacquired him for literally any tangible asset, had they been interested in doing so.