The Toronto Maple Leafs are probably going to use Alex Kerfoot as their second line left wing this season.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s just basic common sense: Alex Kerfoot scored more at 5v5 than either Tavares or Nylander last year, while playing better defense than both of them.
Don’t misunderstand: Kerfoot isn’t on their level, but he’s also a pretty good hockey player. In the NHL, there aren’t that many, if any, other teams who have someone as good as Alex Kerfoot as their fourth best winger.
Kerfoot, however, doesn’t have much upside beyond what he’s showing already. He makes $3.5 million, which is very expensive for a non-star, and he would be incredibly easy to trade.
So if someone who makes almost 4 x less money than Kerfoot shows they can be even half-way capable of playing the role, they will win the job.
Calle Jarnkrok could play there, especially after nearly scoring a hattrick in his first pre-season game, but I don’t think he’s a realistic option. The Leafs need him on their 3rd line to form a defensive juggernaut (this strategy was instrumental in their success last year).
If Kerfoot does end up being moved, Nick Robertson is very likely going to end up playing the most minutes with Tavares and Nylander, but Malgin is an interesting option and worth trying.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Denis Malgin
The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Denis Malgin this summer as an unrestricted free-agent. He previously was on the Leafs before the Pandemic, when they traded Mason Marchment to Florida for him.
Denis Malgin is skating on a line with John Tavares and William Nylander at Leafs practice this morning.
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) September 26, 2022
Malgin is younger, cheaper and more talented, so even though the trade didn’t exactly work out, the thought process behind it was solid.
It may come as a shock to some that Malgin has played in 192 NHL games. Eight of them were with the Leafs in 2019-20, and although he didn’t really do anything at the time to win over fans, it’s not like his nine minutes per game was an ideal audition.
A talented offensive player, Malgin isn’t likely to find much offensive success on a fourth line with the likes of Simmonds and Clifford. He has scored over a point per game in both the Swiss A and the AHL, and doing that usually means you are, at worst, a capable replacement player in the NHL.
So Malgin could easily skate on the Leafs fourth line or serve as a Marlies player who gets called up in a pinch, and that would be fine. Likely that is what ends up happening.
But there is always a chance that his talent comes together with the kind of opportunity playing with Tavares and Nylander affords.
At nearly 4 x less than the cost of Kerfoot, Malgin winning this job would be extremely beneficial to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s not exactly likely, however.