Toronto Maple Leafs Should Sign These Veteran Forwards: No. 1: Tyler Johnson
I'm incredibly shocked that Tyler Johnson has yet to find an NHL team to sign with, as he seems like a perfect veteran forward to bring into a young, or contending team. With over 700 games of experience, Johnson has been a contributor on two Stanley Cup winning teams and could be a great leader in the locker room.
Depsite his size (5-foot-8, 185 pounds), Johnson has been a solid NHL player for the past decade. However, I think the reason teams have been scared off from him is because of his previous cap-hit.
Coming off a $5M AAV contract, Johnson didn't quite live up to that deal, but it's not like he's going to cost that much now.
Even though he was slightly overpaid, it's not like he was irrelevant. He's missed a few games due to injury, but he still scored 17 goals on a terrible Chicago Blackhawks team last year.
If Johnson joined the Leafs at $1M AAV and was the team's third-line winger/centre, there's no reason to believe that he wouldn't end up being a bigger contributor than Pontus Holmberg or David Kampf.
Anwyays, I think Johnson is being left behind because he's a little older and had a big contract, but if you can get him for a low price, I don't see any harm in giving him an opportunity, especially because he's a proven winner and a four-time 20 goal scorer in the NHL