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Toronto Maple Leafs Are Rumoured to be Looking to Add a Winger

By Joseph Zita

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 08: Jared McCann #19 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates with the puck in the first period during the game against the Winnipeg Jets at PPG PAINTS Arena on October 8, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 08: Jared McCann #19 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates with the puck in the first period during the game against the Winnipeg Jets at PPG PAINTS Arena on October 8, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
DALLAS, TEXAS – JANUARY 28: Bobby Ryan #54 of the Detroit Red Wings and Esa Lindell #23 of the Dallas Stars in the  . (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

It has been reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in adding to their forward group to make their team even better.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to an 11-2-1 record to start their 2021 season and despite their league-best record and total points, it hasn’t been pretty every game, and the team’s depth has been tested with injuries.

Nick Robertson, Joe Thornton, and Wayne Simmonds are all sidelined with injuries, while back-up goalie Jack Campbell remains on the shelf as well.

It has been reported by Elliotte Friedman on the Tim and Sid podcast that there’s a winger he thinks that the Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in, but he can’t prove it just yet.  With that in mind here are a few ideas we had in mind.

3. Bobby Ryan – DET – 33 years old – RW/LW

2020-21 stats – 12 GP – 4 G – 3 A – 7 PTS – 47.50 CF%

Career stats – 845 GP – 258 G – 304 A – 562 PTS – 50.02 CF%

Bobby Ryan has come out of the gates with a pretty hot start on a rebuilding Detroit team this season and I think Ryan could be on the Toronto Maple Leafs radar if they are serious about acquiring a player to help out the teams top nine which would add some scoring depth for them.

Ryan who signed a one-year $1M deal with the Red Wings in the off-season will have his talent on a lot of contending teams’ eyes as he’s on a one-year deal with a cheap cap hit and could provide scoring for teams heading into the playoffs.

Ryan can potentially be slotted into the Maple Leafs  top nine and more than likely be on a line with guys like Kerfoot and Vesey or even Kerfoot and Mikheyev if anything. He provides more than one aspect to his game, he’s a veteran in the game and adds yet another veteran body in the Maple Leafs lockerroom, despite being 33 years old and past his prime, he can still contribute offensively, especially on a very talented Toronto Maple Leafs team.

He’s been good offensively for a pretty bad Red Wings team this year but he’s been kind of mediocre at times defensively, but that also could be due to the Red Wings struggling this season yet again. According to Evolving-Hockey, Bobby Ryan currently has a 49.79 xGF%, 2.18 xGF/60, and a 2.20 xGA/60, which is all decent, nothing too eye-opening but maybe a change of scenery will improve those analytics for him.

He’s had a part of some deep playoff runs before, and he’s been on some good hockey teams during his career, so he’ll be a good addition to any team that would be interested in his services if he indeed gets dealt by the Red Wings before, or even at the trade deadline this year. (Stats from Evolving-Hockey.com)

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