Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Potential Replacements for Zach Hyman
The Toronto Maple Leafs may need to replace Zach Hyman next season if he requests too much money.
Zach Hyman has been a valued member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but unfortunately, the team is way too committed to four forwards making a combined $40M. Instead of spreading the wealth to hard-workers like Hyman who can score 20 goals per year, the team is all-in with their four superstars.
Having superstars is incredibly important when it comes to winning a Stanley Cup, but would you rather have three Zach Hyman’s or one Mitch Marner? That’s the question the Toronto Maple Leafs have to ask themselves, as they get set to potentially go without Hyman next year.
Although giving Hyman a contract worth $4-5M per year would be fair compensation for his work, it’s probably too rich for Toronto. The team would be in a better spot spending that money on their depth, instead of an aging forward, who may have played his best hockey already.
The Leafs have two duo’s who should be able to carry a line with a $750K type of player on the other wing. The duo of John Tavares and William Nylander, as well as, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner should be able to make any player they play with a reliable player, similar to how Matthews has done that with Hyman for these few years.
As a result, as much as the loss of Hyman will be tough to swallow, if he does end up leaving, the team should be able to carry on with the following players.
Let’s look at three players who could replace Hyman next year beside Matthews and Marner.
No. 1: Nick Robertson
The Toronto Maple Leafs need to get serious minutes out of Nick Robertson, as his Entry Level Contract is incredibly important in the structure of the salary cap.
By putting Robertson on a line with Matthews and Marner, it would give the team serious flexibility. Toronto would then have some money available to sign or acquire another few players to help the depth of the lineup, which would help the overall team.
Robertson is going to be 20-years-old when the 2021-22 season starts, so his age shouldn’t be an issue anymore. During his last year in junior, Robertson scored 55 goals in 46 games and could help turn the Leafs top-line into the most lethal lines in hockey.
His size could still be troublesome, but in a short 21 game stint with the Toronto Marlies last year, that didn’t seem to be an issue. Robertson is so skilled that he should be able find the back of the net in every league he plays in.
No. 2 : Brock McGinn
When you think of first-line left wingers you probably don’t think of Brock McGinn.
The 27-year-old from Fergus, ON is a pending UFA and has been a steady second or third-liner his entire career. However, instead of putting him in a shutdown role, he could be a cheap player beside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
The reason Zach Hyman was so good was because he was unselfish. He was a hard-worker who could retrieve pucks in the corner and battle hard to score the “greasy goals.” He clearly has more talent than just being a worker-bee, but that’s the number-one reason why he’s been so successful.
Instead of spending a lot of money on a high-skilled winger, McGinn could be a very inexpensive player who can fit the role that Hyman did for $3M less per season.
Matthews and Marner should be able to carry a line by themselves, but McGinn has scored 16 goals in a season before and paired beside those two, there’s no reason to believe he can’t score 20-plus goals in a season.
If the Leafs want to be a better team next year, they should balance the remaining salary they have towards their third line and find inexpensive pieces like McGinn to play beside the core four.
Or they could spend some money on a proven goal-scorer like this next player…
No. 3: Mike Hoffman
The Kitchener, ON native is a pending UFA and could be someone the Leafs pursue in the offseason.
For the same price as Zach Hyman, the Leafs could probably sign Hoffman, who’s a more established goal-scorer. Since 2014, Hoffman has scored 20-plus goals in every season, and was on-pace to do so again if this were a typical 82-game season.
No matter where Hoffman plays, he scores goals. If Toronto wants to stack their roster with another proven goal-scorer, there aren’t too many better options than Hoffman, especially for the price.
Hoffman signed a one-year, $4M per season contract last year and bet on himself. If he’s fine with another one or two-year deal at similar pricing, he could fit perfectly with the Leafs. However, if he’s trying to get paid between $6-7M, that’s clearly too rich for Toronto.
Toronto’s biggest problem heading down the stretch was their powerplay, which is Hoffman’s strength. 35 percent of his career goals have came with the man-advantage and during the 2018-19 season, he finished fifth in powerplay goals with 17 on the year.
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There has been some baggage during Hoffman’s career, but a homecoming could be a great opportunity for him to start fresh. As a player who’s previously scored 36 goals in a season, you’d have to think that he’d return to that form playing with Matthews and Marner every night.