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Toronto Maple Leafs Say “Good Bye” to Kirill Semyonov

By Mike Jack

Toronto Maple Leafs newest import Kirill Semyonov (L) vies with Sweden's forward Matte Stromwall during the Channel One Cup of the Euro Hockey Tour ice hockey match between Sweden and Russia in Moscow at CSKA Arena on December 12, 2019. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Toronto Maple Leafs newest import Kirill Semyonov (L) vies with Sweden's forward Matte Stromwall during the Channel One Cup of the Euro Hockey Tour ice hockey match between Sweden and Russia in Moscow at CSKA Arena on December 12, 2019. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images) /
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The Kirill Semyonov era has come to an end for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Marlies as he was  placed  on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract earlier this week.

According to Match TV, Semyonov has already worked out a deal to re-join Avangard Omsk in the KHL.  He had played with Avangard Omsk for the four season prior to signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs and for a three year stint from 2013-2016.

In Semyonov’s final game as a Toronto Maple Leaf, he had a terrible looking give-away that lead to the San Jose Sharks’ loan goal in the Maple Leafs 4-1 victory.

Semyonov was scratched the next two games in favour of Kyle Clifford and Joey Anderson which were 5-1 and 8-3 wins over the Anaheim Ducks and Colorado Avalanche.

In three NHL career games (all this season), Kirill Semyonov had zero points and only one shot on goal while receiving an average of 10:02 minutes of ice-time per game.

Why Kirill Semyonov is Leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs

With Clifford and Anderson competing with Semyonov to get into the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup and Ondrej Kase and Ilya Mikheyev soon returning from injury, it seems as though Kirill Semyonov knew his playing time in the NHL would be very limited.

Semyonov was probably frustrated with the amount of time he spent watching games in the press box and the limited playing time he received when he got into games considering he was a star player in the KHL.

To play on the Toronto Maple Leafs fourth line, players need to be defensively reliable while also showing chemistry with Jason Spezza.

Spezza is the star of the fourth line, and he plays best with gritty players who can get to the net and give him an outlet for a pass, create traffic or at least dig pucks out of the corners.  Semyonov wasn’t a good fit for that line.

Semyonov was known for his two-way abilities in the KHL, and though he had a good camp and played very well on the Toronto Marlies, his game didn’t seem to carry over into the NHL.

Semyonov will be Missed by the Toronto Marlies

Kirill Semyonov was playing extremely well with the Toronto Marlies putting up nine points in nine games while displaying a solid defensive game.

Semyonov was leading the Toronto Marlies in points when he earned the call up to join the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Unfortunately, the point production he saw receiving first line minutes in the minors didn’t translate when he saw fourth line minutes in the NHL.

Next. Top 3 Marlies Hoping to Crack Maple Leafs. dark

I’m not sure if Kirill Semyonov thought studying the North American game in the AHL was beneath him or perhaps he was a little homesick, but it’s a shame that he’s not going to continue on with the Toronto Marlies.  He would’ve really helped the Marlies and could’ve earned another NHL call up in the future.

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