Toronto Maple Leafs: Don’t Expect Too Much From Denis Malgin

The  Toronto Maple Leafs are giving Denis Malgin another shot.

Acquired in a regrettable deal that saw Toronto Maple Leafs traded away Mason Marchment, Denis Malgin played just eight games with the Leafs before heading back to Switzerland for the last two seasons.

Mason Marchment, who the  Leafs put considerable efforts into to develop, has now inked a deal worth $4.5 million a year with the Dallas Stars, and had a breakout year with Florida. 

Meanwhile, the Leafs retained the signing rights to Denis Malgin, who finished 17th and then 5th in scoring during his two years in the Swiss league.

Denis Malgin Has Plenty to Prove for the Toronto Maple Leafs

Plenty has been said about how the deal has ended up being one of the poorer decisions made during Kyle Dubas’ tenure as the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs; a player in the two-way power forward mold for yet another smaller skill-first winger.

Though to be fair, Marchment is 27 and his breakout year occurred long past what would have made him a late bloomer.  Swapping two failed prospects (they were 23 and 25 at the time) to give fresh starts to players who no longer are in your plans is a very common thing to do in the NHL, and the fact that someone actually lost a trade like this is pretty unlikely.

The Leafs got a player with more talent who was two years younger.  However badly the trade turned out, it’s hard to argue with the thought process that saw this trade go down.

For the ZSC Lions, he notched 52 points (21 goals and 31 assists) in 48 National League games last season.

Worth noting are some of the other names in the league’s top five scoring last season, namely former Leafs forwards Mark Arcobello (51 points) and Daniel Winnik (54 points).

Likewise, it’s worth looking at another Leafs comparison from their time in the Swiss competition.  As an 18 year-old, Auston Matthews put up 46 points (24 goals and 22 assists) in 36 games with the ZSC Lions.

Such production in his native Switzerland may lead to some suggestion that he has untapped potential, but there’s also a strong argument to be made that he’s already had chances in the NHL and not taken advantage of them.  The fact is that a breakout at age 25 for Malgin is unlikely, but the added depth can’t hurt.

In fact, when you look at the probable make-up of the Toronto Maple Leafs line-up, it’s hard to even pick where Denis Malgin will be a fit. With the likes of Calle Jarnkrok, Adam Gaudette and Nicolas Aube-Kubel arriving this summer, Malgin is not an obvious fit anywhere.

With his obvious leaning towards playmaking and offense, there’s a chance Malgin is a fit if Alex Kerfoot ends up traded. Likewise, the recently retired Jason Spezza’s departure leaves a spot open on the second powerplay unit; another spot that lends to Malgin’s specific skills.

Still, the decision doesn’t sit that comfortably as with several other forwards also competing for spots, Denis Malgin is just another name in the mix. In fact, perhaps the only thing going for him is the fact he’s signed at a league minimum $750,000.

All in all, there’s not a ton to be excited about here; Malgin is unlikely to prove an impact signing but stranger things have happened.