3 left-wing UFA's Toronto Maple Leafs should sign
Reports indicate that the Toronto Maple Leafs are still looking to improve their left-wing position
According to Sportsnet's Elliote Freidman, the Toronto Maple Leafs are considering "left-wing options" right now.
It's no secret that the Toronto Maple Leafs current left-wing position is one of the team's weakest, however there is still potential in-house to improve. If Nick Robertson returns and Easton Cowan makes the roster, it's possible that the team's left-wing position could be much better than we think, but I wouldn't put much weight into that.
As much as I'd love to see Cowan make the NHL, I think the team will take a similar approach to what they did with Fraser Minten last season. Minten made the roster out of camp, but only played a few games before returning to the WHL. They didn't want to burn a year of his contract, which was smart, but he still got that valuable NHL experience before returning back to junior.
Cowan had an exceptional year last season and argubably can't do much better this year, so the NHL is the natural next step, but I don't know if he'd be able to beat out Bobby McMann, Matthew Knies, Nick Robertson, Connor Dewar or Calle Jarnkrok for a spot. It would be incredible if he did, because he's a cheaper option, but we'll have to see what happens.
Tyler Bertuzzi had a terrible first-half of the season last year, at least in terms of production (his advanced stats were great all year) but his game turned around in the second-half and he lived up to his contract as a top-six winger. However, now that he's gone, the team has a big gap to fill in that position and will have to look elsewhere. At this point, it's going to be tough to add a marquee name but they may get lucky with some older UFA's, who've yet to sign.
Here are three left-wing options the Toronto Maple Leafs should consider.
No. 1: Nick Cousins
If Kyle Dubas was still the GM of the Leafs, Cousins would have been signed on July 1st, based on his Soo Greyhounds connection alone. However, Cousins is still surprisingly unsigned as we get close to September.
Cousins won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last year, so he could re-join his former teammates Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Anthony Stolarz by signing in Toronto. He's not going to fit that top-six left-wing position that Toronto could use, but he's going to fill a gap at the position that they despearetly need.
Although he only appeared in 12 playoff games, Cousins has been known to provide some timely goals and grit over the years. He's always been known as that player who you hate to play against, but would love on your team, so Toronto could use that type of player.
Ryan Reaves can help with toughness but is an overall negative drag on the team, while Cousins can be that pest and still put up some numbers throughout the year.
Born in Belleville, ON, Cousins could be very intrigued at signing with his "hometown" team, especially since he could help fill a role. Personally, I'd love to see him on the team's fourth-line in a checking role, so I hope the Leafs consider Cousins as he brings a lot of experience and something the team is currently lacking.
No. 2: Max Pacioretty
Pacioretty supposedly has a number of offers on the table right now and I'd be shocked if Toronto isn't one of them. Based on his age and recent injuries, the veteran winger will be an inexpensive option who teams hope can find lightning in a bottle.
It would be weird to see Pacioretty in a Leafs uniform, but I'd love to see it. Remember when Tomas Plekanec joined Toronto for the 2017-18 playoff run and how weird that looked? After spending 15 years with the Montreal Canadiens, he was all of a sudden a Leaf, but that trade worked out as he scored two goals and registered four points in seven playoff games versus Boston.
If Pacioretty was healthy over the past two years, he'd still be fetching $5M AAV on the open-market as team's would be lining up for his services, but the 35-year-old has a ton of question marks heading into this year. Although there are concerns about health, he seems like he could be an unbelievable pick-up for the Leafs this year.
He struggled in Washington last year, but he could be a force beside Auston Matthews or John Tavares. Toronto's core is going to draw so much attention that Pacioretty could be able to sneak into the open areas and return to that 30-goal player he was, just a few years ago.
Pacioretty shouldn't be asking for more than $1M AAV at this point in his career, so taking a flyer on him at that price should be a no-brainer. If it doesn't work out, they can easily flip his contract somewhere else or they can bury it in the minors like they always do. This is a classic low-risk, high-reward player that Brad Treliving should sign immediately.
No. 3: James van Riemsdyk
This is not the first time we've talked about James van Riemsdyk, nor will it be the last, because I'd love to break out that old No. 21 or No. 19 (depending when you bought it) jersey and wear it proudly.
JVR is definitely slowing down, as he only scored 11 goals last year, but there's no reason to believe he can't be a 20-plus goal scorer with the Leafs. As we all remember, van Reimsdyk was a fantastic Leaf as he registered multiple 30-goal seasons. There was nobody better at scoring from tight areas in front of the net and his big body presence was a huge help on the power-play.
John Tavares currently plays that front-net presence, but he could be better suited playing the bumper role instead, if JVR returned. You could put Tavares in the middle, with Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews on both wings, Morgan Reilly up top and van Riemsdyk in-front and have a very successful power-play. That would also allow William Nylander to run the second unit and dominate the opposition's weaker penalty-killers.
We all know that JVR has had chemistry before with Marner, so it would be great to see them back together again. At 35-years-old, you'd have to assume that he'd be incredibly motivated to have one more successful season and try to win a Stanley Cup in Toronto because he's nearing retirement.
manual
A JVR signing would be a welcomed sight for the fans, but I think the dressing room would also love to see it as he was such a great member of the Leafs before and could provide some depth scoring this team is lacking.