Philippe Myers
As one of the Leafs value offseason signings, Philippe Myers was inked to a one-year deal on just the second day of free agency. With the others key defense signings in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Chris Tanev and eventually Jani Hakanpaa as well, Myers appeared to be a longshot to make the roster prior to the start of the 2024-25 NHL season.
In fact, he was mainly expected to serve just as insurance depth for the team defense this season.
However, after the sudden onset of key injuries to some of the Leafs back end in both Hakanpaa and more recently Jake McCabe, Myers has been forced into more game action than expected during the past week.
Despite the limited playing time prior to his usage, the Leafs were confident that he could help hold the fort down until the reinforcements made it back.
Playing close to 18 minutes a night in recent games, Myers has compiled one assist on 8 shots with 15 hits and 5 blocks in five total games played thus far with the Maple Leafs. More importantly, he didn’t appear out of place and has looked comfortable playing alongside top defenseman Morgan Rielly in the process.
In any case, Myers will still likely just be a placeholder until McCabe comes off the IR. With Hakanpaa also able to provide a much more physical impact on the ice for the Leafs, look for Myers to be the odd man out once again by the end of the month.