Toronto Maple Leafs Are Losing Zach Hyman and That’s Fine

Exhibit 3: Playoffs

Zach Hyman has been an integral part of every Toronto Maple Leafs squad that has bowed out early in the playoffs the past five seasons. For some reason; however, only names such as Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander tend to be saddled with the brunt of the blame for these post-season failures. Here is Hyman’s production in the playoffs:

32 games played. 5 goals. 13 points.

He has also never scored more than a single goal in any of those five playoff series.

Moreover, these numbers are exacerbated by the fact that Hyman has also played almost exclusively on lines with the ‘big-four’ and has averaged 19:27 of ice time overall in the playoffs (a full two-minutes more than Nylander).

That kind of output, with those sweetheart line combinations and immense amount of ice time would normally be lambasted by the majority of a team’s fanbase. But oddly enough, Hyman not only escapes criticism, he has a label of ‘playoff performer’ bestowed upon him. Is that simply by virtue of him being a good forechecker?

The fact is I do think that Hyman is a good player who performed admirably in his years with Toronto and it would have been nice to keep him around. He always competed hard, finished his checks and was a master at negating icings. He has had a very nice career for a 5th-round pick out of the CCHL and, with a cap hit of only $2.25 million, has provided a ton of value these past years.

He has his flaws, as do many players on this Toronto Maple Leafs roster, but those flaws are much easier to mask when there isn’t much salary involved. The prospect of more than doubling his salary as he approaches an age where a player can decline at the drop of a hat for seven, or more, years; however, is not appealing nor good business in the flat-cap era. That just sounds like something the Leafs would almost immediately end up regretting.

Best of luck Edmonton, it’s not like I (or  your last seven-year deal) didn’t warn you.