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The Toronto Maple Leafs Should Trade for Bobby Ryan

By Stephen Nixon

CALGARY, AB - JANUARY 24: Wayne Simmonds #24 (C) of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates with teammates Mitch Marner #16 and Auston Matthews #34 after scoring against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on January 24, 2021 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB - JANUARY 24: Wayne Simmonds #24 (C) of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates with teammates Mitch Marner #16 and Auston Matthews #34 after scoring against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on January 24, 2021 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 18: Mikko Lehtonen #46 of the Toronto Maple Leafs   (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

#3. Give Mikko Lehtonen More Ice-Time

Lehtonen has only played two games this season for a grand total of 15 minutes of ice-time. The team is not utilizing the former KHL Defenseman of the Year the way many hoped he would be.

I know Zach Bogosian has improved since looking shaky in his first few games, but is Lehtonen really going to hurt this team so much defensively that they’ll lose? His skating hasn’t looked as great as I hoped it would, but he’s also only played 15 minutes of NHL hockey. That’s not enough time to show your best self.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Bogosian is the type of defenseman that you want on your roster during the playoffs. However, during the regular season, I don’t see why the Toronto Maple Leafs wouldn’t want to give the veteran a few nights off to rest and prepare for when the season counts.

My biggest issue with not giving Lehtonen some valuable ice-time right now is because of potential injuries to the blue-line. Last year, Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin missed significant time, so if something like that happened again, Lehtonen would be less prepared if he had to play a greater role on this team.

Lehtonen is 27-years-old and should be able to transition to the NHL game easier than any other rookie in the league. As a result, the team needs to give him a bigger role and more ice-time so if one of the top-four defensemen go down, he feels more comfortable about playing. The last thing you’d want to do is sit Lehtonen for weeks, then all of a sudden ask him to play 20 minutes per night and lose all of his confidence if he’s not ready for the challenge.

By playing Lehtonen more, it’ll only help the roster and give the team more flexibility. Even if he performs poorly, at least the coaching staff know now that he shouldn’t be put in the line-up come playoff time.

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