The Toronto Maple Leafs could take a flier on a former first-round pick to bolster the lineup.
Toronto focused on adding to its bottom six this offseason as the Maple Leafs brought in plenty of new forwards. Yet, Toronto could use some more offense and another addition to the top six.
Ahead of training camp, Maple Leafs analyst Alex Hobson of LeafsNation urges the team to try to acquire Ivan Miroshnichenko from the Washington Capitals.
“They drafted the 22-year-old 20th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, and despite three productive AHL seasons in a row, he’s only managed 52 NHL games with 13 points combined over three seasons,” Hobson wrote.
“The Washington Capitals have quietly formed one of, if not the deepest forward group in the NHL. Their highest-scoring player was Alex Ovechkin with 64 points, but in that same breath, they had eight players finish with at least 40 points. Factor in the trade for Alex Tuch and the addition of prospect Ilya Protas, who will be joining his older brother Aliaksei, and there’s not a lot of room for a player like Miroshnichenko to flourish. The Leafs could probably use one more forward addition, and given the limited game-changers available, a right-handed shooter with top-six upside could be a fun bet for them to make.”
Miroshnichenko hasn’t lived up to the hype as a first-round pick and could be a change-of-scenery candidate, and has some upside as a top-six forward. It also likely wouldn’t cost much, as Miroshnichenko could be placed on waivers ahead of the season, so trading him for a mid-round pick makes sense.
Miroshnichenko Would be Worth a Flier
Entering the 2022 NHL Draft, Miroshnichenko was an intriguing prospect, and Washington selected him 20th overall.
The Russian drew some minor comparisons to Ovechkin as a solid scoring Russian forward. However, he has struggled to crack the Capitals lineup, and now he does need to pass through waivers.
So, if he doesn’t make the roster, a team would likely claim him as a former first-round pick. If he’s not going to make the roster, it would be wise for the Capitals to trade him, and the Maple Leafs could take a flier on him.
Miroshnichenko could add some secondary scoring to the lineup, and if he doesn’t pan out, Toronto could simply put him on waivers or trade him and move on.
Maple Leafs Focused on Bottom-Six
Toronto was active this offseason as the Maple Leafs overhauled their roster.
New GM John Chayka said he wanted to add more to the bottom of the lineup and be better defensively, which was key this offseason.
“We needed to get better in terms of the defensive side of the game. We needed to address our penalty killing. And we needed to bring some more speed to the lineup. If you look at the full picture, we are a much more dynamic team today than we were 24 hours ago,” Chayka said on July 1. …
“As I said, we had some roles we needed to fill, and we needed to create some depth. Certainly, through the spine of our team now, we feel a lot better about our center position through the defense.”
The Maple Leafs will open their season on Sept. 29 against the Montreal Canadiens.
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