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Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas has to be pondering and investigating what avenues he will pursue this summer in a number of different areas to find a pathway to improving his club’s chances of playoff success.
In spite of a record-breaking regular season, the Leafs had another early postseason exit. Toronto will likely explore the trade market and/or free agency to find upgrades, but that will depend on what they do with the players currently on their roster.
We look today at the state of the Leafs on the left side:
There is no spot on the Toronto roster that has seen more changeover in the last 12 months than left-wing. The departure of longtime Leaf Zach Hyman, veteran rental Nick Foligno, and Alex Galchenyuk, and a lack of cap space put Dubas in the position of going bargain-basement shopping and relying on players already on the roster to step up in a larger role.
The Leafs batted .500 in free agency, as Michael Bunting was an overwhelming success with a Calder Trophy nomination after a 63-point rookie campaign playing on the port side with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, while Nick Ritchie was a dismal failure, ending up playing the fourth line and being demoted to the AHL after scoring two goals in 33 games before being dealt to Arizona.
The top-six vacancy on the left side was filled mostly by Alex Kerfoot, who had 38 assists playing with John Tavares, but the loss of goal production from Hyman was picked up by Ilya Mikheyev, who scored 21 goals in 53 games after recovering from a broken thumb suffered in the last game of the preseason. Pierre Engvall made a significant impact in a larger role, scoring 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in his first full NHL season and playing well on special teams. Kyle Clifford was reacquired from St. Louis and along with Wayne Simmonds filled the veteran sandpaper role on the fourth line.
Dubas will likely have to go bargain hunting once again this summer, as Mikheyev is likely headed for a payday in free agency next month. Bunting and Kerfoot both have one year remaining, and Engvall (an arbitration-eligible RFA) could see his role expanded with the departure of “Soup…. The name that could step into an offensive role is 20-year-old Nick Robertson, who struggled with injury again in the first half but scored 16 goals in 28 games with the AHL Marlies.
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