With most of the offseason moves made by NHL clubs in the month of October, it is a good time to take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs and how they are situated at each position for the 2020-21 season. GM Kyle Dubas was extremely busy in free agency and shook up a number of areas of the Leafs roster, but we will have to wait until next January or February to see if those changes will result in more success.
The Leafs forward corps saw some necessary departures due to the club needing room under the salary cap to address the defense. On the right side, Toronto dealt Kasperi Kapanen and his $3.2 million salary to Pittsburgh for a first round pick (Rodion Amirov) and prospect Filip Hallander. Dubas re-signed Jason Spezza on a one-year, league-minimum deal and in free agency brought in former Flyer Wayne Simmonds on a one-year, $1.5 million contract.
Simmonds was dealt at the 2019 trade deadline to Nashville and scored only one goal in 17 games for the Predators. The 32-year-old signed a one-year deal with New Jersey, but continued to struggle, scoring only eight goals in 61 games before being dealt to Buffalo in late February.
Simmonds believes he can return to the form that saw him score 30 goals in Philadelphia after being able to fully recover from a slew of injuries, but the big winger is expected to play more of a bottom-six physical role with the Leafs, something much needed after being pushed around in playoff losses to Boston and Columbus the last three seasons.
Based on their usage during the regular season, William Nylander and Mitch Marner will play the right side on the top two lines centered by Auston Matthews and John Tavares, while Simmonds appears to be a good fit on the third line unit with Jimmy Vesey and Alex Kerfoot.
Spezza played mostly center on the fourth line in the qualifying round vs. Columbus, but split time on the right side and up the middle during the regular season. With the addition of Joe Thornton, it is likely that Spezza sees most of his time on the wing.
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