*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.
*******
When the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs match up, there is always an abundance of narratives. We have the ‘Connor McDavid will eventually be wearing Blue and White wishful thinking’ one, the Oilers being the landing spot of seemingly endless amounts of ex-Leafs (Jack Campbell (currently in AHL Bakersfield), Calvin Pickard, Cody Ceci, Sam Carrick, and Connor Brown) and the one that is the focal point of Saturday’s meeting at Scotiabank Arena; the 50-goal quest of Zach Hyman.
No Leaf fan has any bit of animus towards the 31-year-old Toronto native for his departure in the summer of 2021 after being underpaid for five years in Toronto. His seven-year, $38.5 million free agent contract signed with the Oilers is one of the many deals that fell victim to the salary cap not going up because of the pandemic and the Leafs decision to pay four forwards over $40 million.
Former GM Kyle Dubas tried in vain to get Hyman signed for a lesser amount, and the Leafs have been looking for someone to fill his role on the left side adequately ever since.
The feisty winger is not only of the best two-way forwards in the NHL, but he has benefited from the experience of playing alongside Auston Matthews and John Tavares in Toronto, easily adapting to playing with another former top overall pick in McDavid (who is on his way to reaching 100 assists this season) and is now chasing Matthews in his pursuit of a third Rocket Richard Trophy.
"It would be pretty special," Hyman said. "I don't think many people thought that I'd have the opportunity to do it here. But, yeah, it would be pretty special."
The Leafs have back-to-back weekend games against the Oilers and in Carolina on Sunday, which means that both Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll will get starts. Tyler Bertuzzi is battling an illness but did participate in the optional morning skate on Saturday, leaving his status for the Oilers up in the air. Head coach Sheldon Keefe will play the same six blueliners that were in the lineup against Washington, which means that Ilya Lyubushkin will sit and TJ Brodie will not play for the second straight game in favor of Conor Timmins, who will partner with Simon Benoit.
Mitch Marner did not practice on Friday and will miss both weekend games.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»