The Toronto Maple Leafs Seem to Have a “Type”

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a Non-Blockbuster trade today, sending Denis Malgin to the Avalanche in exchange for Dryden Hunt.

The trade proves but one thing: The Toronto Maple Leafs have a type, and they can’t get enough of it.

Malgin was a nothing player, making nothing, who did, basically nothing.  The problem? His speed and skill constantly leaves you wanting more, and when he doesn’t provide it, he’s not effective.

Dryden, on the other hand, will be quietly effective and unnoticed.

Toronto Maple Leafs and the Least Blockbustery Trade Ever

This is a trade for two guys who are only really known by their mothers, and dedicated fans of the team they play for.

They both make the same amount of money.

They both are on an expiring contract.

So why make the trade?

Because the Leafs very clearly want to dress a mistake-free bottom of the lineup that just takes up space and doesn’t hurt anything until the big boys can get back on the ice.

The idea is to surround the amazing skill at the top of the roster with *apparently* an entire fleet of low-event defensive forwards.

The Leafs already have:

David Kampf

Pierre Engvall

Calle Jarnkrok

Alex Kerfoot *he scores quite a bit at 5v5, but is still primarily a defensive player*

Pontus Holmberg

Zach Aston-Reese

That is a lot of really good defensive forwards. It gives the Leafs a lot of options.

Malgin skated to a 53% Corsi and a 54% Expected Goals Rating.

The problem was production: He scored just 2 goals and 2 assists in 23 games.  He played about one-third of his minutes on the Tavares line, and that line had better numbers (and production) without Malgin than it had with him.

Ultimately, Malgin was the lowest points per minute scorer on the team, despite getting time with the stars.  David Kampf hasn’t played 88 minutes with John Tavares and Willy Nylander, but somehow has managed to score more per minute than Malgin has.

Malgin looks dangerous sometimes, and I liked watching him play this year. I think he has some upside and could turn into a useful player.   However, if he isn’t scoring, how much is he helping the team? Clearly he didn’t do enough to win the 2nd line job, and with Nick Robertson, Joey Anderson, Alex Steeves, Semyon Der Arguchintsov and eventually, Matt Knies, the Leafs aren’t hurting for players with offensive talent to audition in that role.

Dryden Hunt, on the other hand, is someone you can drop into the bottom of the lineup and forget about.  He is the ultimate depth piece in that you can play him and know that he won’t hurt you.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are his fifth NHL team, and he gives them yet another option for when they want to play a safe, low-event game.

This clearly works for them.   They have a type, and now, if they want, they could dress an entire two lines worth of them.  I like Denis Malgin, and I probably won’t ever have strong feelings about Dryden Hunt, but I think that is kind of the point here.