No. 3: Joey Anderson
Anderson is signed for the next two seasons at $750K, so the Leafs have some time before they have to call him up, but with a potential weak left-side, they may want to do it sooner than later.
The additions of Nick Ritchie and Michael Bunting will be great to this roster, but Ilya Mikheyev could be a trade piece sooner than later. As such, it could open the door for someone like Joey Anderson to give the Leafs some energy minutes on the third line.
Here’s what Tony Ferrari of DobberProspects, said about Anderson after he was acquired by Toronto:
"“The move was a cap clearing trade primarily for the Maple Leafs but the former Devil provides some interesting value, specifically as a player who fits the high energy, high-motor role that the Leafs are always in need of.”"
That high-motor, high-energy role is something that Toronto desperately needs and Anderson can help with it. Not only can he provide that, but he can add some scoring depth that the Leafs were missing.
In 20 games last with the Marlies, Anderson showed his offensive touch, scoring seven goals, while adding four assists. He only has eight goals in 54 career NHL games (stats: hockeydb.com), but that number should rise tremendously if given an opportunity on this Toronto Maple Leafs team.
Who knows if any of these three players will be full-time players by the end of the year, but keep an eye out for them as legitimate stars on the Marlies this year.