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Lost in the news of the Toronto Maple Leafs transitioning from Lou Lamoriello to a new general manager on Monday, the club once again appears to be the preferred destination of another European free agent.
Swedish reporter Uffe Bodin indicated on Monday that the Leafs are close to signing center Par Lindholm to a contract. The 26-year-old center scored a career-high 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) in his sixth season with Skelleftea of the Swedish Hockey League and played for Sweden in the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Lindholm is known as a versatile forward who can play at both ends of the ice and his offensive game has bloomed in the last two seasons with Skelleftea, where he finished second in team scoring behind linemate and former Leafs Joakim Lindstrom.
Rosen played four games with the Leafs and 62 games in the American Hockey League this season, while Borgman played most of the first half of the season in the NHL before losing his spot to fellow rookie Travis Dermott in January.
The Leafs are looking for help up the middle with free agents Tyler Bozak, Dominic Moore & Tomas Plekanec not expected back, but the interest and potential signing of Lindholm is also reflective at the lack of Toronto’s organizational center depth.
After challenging for a spot on the Leafs roster at training camp, Aaltonen had a solid debut season in North America, scoring 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) with the AHL Toronto Marlies, but there is a question whether he can be anything more than borderline NHL/AHLer.
Frederik Gauthier’s time in the Leafs organization may be running out. The 2013 first rounder got his third short stint in the NHL, playing nine games with the Leafs last season, but he failed to steal the fourth line job away from Moore and head coach Mike Babcock was not pleased that the 6’5…, 232 lb. center did not use his size to his advantage.
The 23-year-old has not exceeded 20 points in three full AHL seasons and his entry-level contract is expiring this summer, which means Gauthier could be moved in the off-season or not extended a qualifying offer.
Chris Mueller is a 31-year-old AHL veteran journeyman with just 53 games of NHL experience in his 11-year professional career and the only young center prospects are Adam Brooks (who only began to show progress in the last quarter of the season with the Marlies) and 2017 sixth round pick Ryan McGregor.
There is no guarantee that Lindholm will be a part of the Leafs opening night roster, but based on his experience and the lack of current viable options, he will get an opportunity to make the club. *******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.*******