Zach Aston-Reese Would Solidify the Toronto Maple Leafs 4th Line

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Friday, September 9th, that they had signed forward Zach Aston-Reese to a professional tryout.

As has been the norm for the last several seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs used the off-season to revamp the bottom half of their roster, looking for some low-cost, high-value gems that can replace the more expensive players that moved on.

The team has plenty of firepower in their top six, but when holding onto a one-goal lead late in the game, you need to be able to send out a defensive unit to shut down your opponent.

So far this off-season, Toronto has re-signed Pierre Engvall, signed Calle Jarnkrok, Adam Gaudette, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. Now they’re giving Aston-Reese a chance to join the team as well. Add those five to David Kampf, Wayne Simmonds, and Kyle Clifford, and you have a backlog in your bottom six. With training camp right around the corner, competition is a good thing.

I think the perfect bottom six for the Toronto Maple Leafs to start the season with is the third line of Engvall, Kampf, and Jarnkrok, followed by the fourth line of Aube-Kubel, Gaudette, and Aston-Reese. It’s a good mix of secondary offense, physicality, and defensive responsibility.

What Aston-Reese Brings to the Toronto Maple Leafs

Aston-Reese would be giving Toronto a good fore-checker who is also responsible defensively. He is a guy who loves to bring the physicality (231 hits last season) and will chip in 15-20 points. Although Wayne Simmonds is still a member of the Maple Leafs, Aston-Reese is essentially his replacement. Aston Reese recorded five goals and ten assists for 15 points in 69 games last season. (Stats from hockey-reference.com)

Toronto fans should not be surprised if Aston-Reese and Gaudette find chemistry in training camp. The two played together for two seasons at Northeastern University in the NCAA. Their roles will be different now as both will be looked upon to prevent goals more than score them. That pair, and Aube-Kubel, could become a dependable fourth line for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

During the 2022 NHL playoffs, Aston-Reese recorded one goal and one assist for two points in six games. He also recorded 18 hits, four blocked shots, three takeaways, and one giveaway. His average ice time last season was 13:25 during the regular season and 14:10 in the playoffs.

For Aston-Reese to sign a contract, the Maple Leafs need to make a trade. There is not enough salary cap space right now, so we will see what happens between now and the start of the regular season.