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3 Players That Should be on the Toronto Maple Leafs Trading Block

By Stephen Nixon

TORONTO, ON - MAY 31: Alexander Kerfoot #15 of the Toronto Maple Leafs defends against the Montreal Canadiens during Game Seven of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 31, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Canadiens defeated the Map[le Leafs 3-1 to win series 4 games to 3. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MAY 31: Alexander Kerfoot #15 of the Toronto Maple Leafs defends against the Montreal Canadiens during Game Seven of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 31, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Canadiens defeated the Map[le Leafs 3-1 to win series 4 games to 3. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
VANCOUVER, BC – APRIL 18: Ilya Mikheyev #65 of the Toronto Maple Leafs . (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Ilya Mikheyev

It doesn’t always work when you sign a player from the KHL, but Mikheyev has been an exception.

After a scary injury in his first season, Mikheyev bounced back in his second. He only scored 17 points in 54 games, but he was healthy and effective. It felt like he had a breakaway every night but was rarely able to actually score on them.

His speed is a huge reason why he’s worked on this team and a reason why many other teams in the NHL would want his services. At 26-years-old, Mikheyev is set to become an Unrestricted Free Agent next year and will probably ask for more than the $1.65M he’s currently making.

Although he’s deserving of that money on the open market, he doesn’t fit the Leafs long-term. He’s solid, but for that same price on the left-wing, Toronto can slot in Michael Bunting, Pierre Engvall and/or Nick Robertson.

Mikheyev is realistically a fourth-line player, but is paid like a third-liner, so Toronto needs to ship him out to clear some space.

$1.65M may not seem like a lot, but putting a player like Bunting in that spot for $700K less could be the difference from signing another veteran or upgrading the team. Mikheyev is a very likeable player, but the team should look to trade him very soon because he just doesn’t have enough offensive output to be worth the money.

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