John Chayka and the Toronto Maple Leafs had a very busy first day of NHL Free Agency. The Maple Leafs' general manager was busy, adding a new goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky, and multiple depth pieces to fill bottom-six roles among the team's forward units.
Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, Brandon Duhaime, and Teddy Blueger were notable free agents who were signed to fill third- and fourth-line roles. The Maple Leafs also acquired Nick Paul in a trade for Dennis Hildeby and draft picks to help the bottom six.
While last week's drafting of first overall pick Gavin McKenna gives the Maple Leafs a fresh new toy to play alongside Auston Matthews, none of the above signings are expected to see much time on the ice with the Leafs' captain. Despite that, one underrated signing might help reignite Matthews' elite goal-scoring form.
How Sissons' Defensive Dominance Frees Up Matthews
At first glance, the signing of Sissons appears questionable. After all, he registered only 11 points in 66 games last season with the Vegas Golden Knights. Yet, after Bobrovsky, his 2-year, $8.5 million deal is the second-highest cap hit among Toronto's new additions.
When discussing the Maple Leafs' signings, Frankie Corrado of the TSN OverDrive panel thought that Toronto paid market value for all of their new players except Sissons. He suggested they gave Sissons twice as much as needed. Host Bryan Hayes questioned why Toronto would do that.
"They really needed a right-handed center who can penalty kill and eat a lot of defensive zone faceoffs," he replied. Corrado suggested the Sissons signing was related to Matthews. "Sissons will help get Matthews away from defensive zone faceoffs and help him be an offensive force, and they paid a premium for it."
Hayes commented that he thinks this philosophy is a new directive from MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley, Chayka, and the coaching staff. Players like Matthews, Nylander, and Tavares will be relieved of defensive zone draws and responsibilities whenever possible. The third and fourth lines will take on more of the "heavy lifting" on the defensive side.
A look at Sissons' career stats shows he is well-suited for that type of role. His career offensive-zone start percentage is 32.7. He is strong on faceoffs, with a career win percentage of 53.9. Paul brings similar qualities and has had some dominant seasons as a third-line center in Tampa Bay.
One of the biggest criticisms of former coach Craig Berube was his overreliance on Matthews' defensive abilities, which shackled him offensively. That was a major contributing factor to Matthews having some of the worst offensive seasons of his career under Berube.
It appears that the new Maple Leafs' management is determined not to make the same mistake, hoping to return Matthews to his dominant, goal-scoring ways. If Sissons' signing helps in that regard, it will be money well spent.
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