The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to lose Zach Hyman this summer.
It’s a blessing in disguise for the Toronto Maple Leafs because Hyman has about two too many busted knees to be worth the risk of signing into his thirties.
The Leafs – ever the optimists, apparently, – are supposedly going to let Hyman walk and take a run at Colorado Captain Gabriel Landeskog.
This should be enough to get even the crustiest, least optimistic, most cynical, hockey fan, a month and a half into his divorce with his former favorite team a little bit excited.
Because adding Landeskog would be more than a good move, it would be the kind of rare move that pretty much everyone would love. Landeskog exemplifies the kind of player (re: Hyman) that Leafs fans always overrated, but for once, he’s actually got the talent to back it up.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Gabriel Landeskog
In recent days rumours have circulated that contract negotiations for the soon to be UFA are not going well in Colorado. Enter this exciting new rumour, courtesy Dave Pagnotta:
If Alex Kerfoot's $3.5 million is off the books and Gabe Landeskog doesn't have a deal in Colorado, could we see the Buds pursue the Avs captain? 👀@TheFourthPeriod joined #SNTonight with @AndyMc81 & @RusicSN590 to discuss!#LeafsForever | #NHL pic.twitter.com/upD5WSrdSH
— Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) July 15, 2021
If the Toronto Maple Leafs pass on bringing back Kerfoot, Andersen and Hyman, they would have about ten million in savings, and this would more than enough to bring in Landeskog.
The Leafs would be quadrupling down on their studs-and-duds cap philosophy, and I hope they do it. If for no other reason than because of how stupid the reaction to their loss to Montreal has been.
The Leafs two best players went cold at the worst time, and they were missing John Tavares, and Jake Muzzin, and they got demonstrably unlucky (i.e storm back from down 2 goals, outshoot their opponent 12-1 in OT and then lose on the combination of an un-called head-shot and a knucklepuck from 80 feet out). This doesn’t mean they are a bad team, it doesn’t mean their ideas can’t work, and it sure doesn’t have anything to do with the past failures of the team.
Gabriel Landeskog, possibly hitting the market, is a steady top six two-way winger who's been the defensive conscience on Colorado's top line. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/MOLaO1XJaE
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 15, 2021
Still, somehow this Mr. Burns Softball Team-esque series of events means that suddenly all bottom-of-the-lineup players aren’t practically interchangeable, and that it flukes don’t happen, and injuries don’t matter, and math doesn’t mean anything, and teams who dominate most of their games don’t usually win and……..well anyways its a frustrating time for people who actually like and believe in the Leafs current direction.
So believe me when I say that I would find adding another expensive star forward to this group as the most entertaining thing of all.
Do it!
Only missing ten games a few years ago prevented Landeskog from scoring 20 goals in eight straight seasons. He’s a way better player than Zach Hyman. He is a star player who, though only six months younger than Hyman, is better in everyway, including injury history. (He’s missed maybe 35 games over his eight-year career).
Ultimately, adding Landeskog is probably a bit of a pipe-dream because he’s most likely going to be re-signing in Colorado. Still, this is the kind of thing that makes being a hockey fan in the summertime fun.