It’s the day after the Super Bowl and the one question on everyone’s mind is how does the Kansas City Chiefs win affect the Toronto Maple Leafs where does Jakob Chychrun go? While we seem no closer to an answer when I write this (the reality could be very different when you read this) there is a strong chance that Chychrun doesn’t wind up in Toronto. For that matter, there’s a very good chance that Timo Meier doesn’t wind up in Toronto either. It’s with that cold, harsh dose of Monday Morning reality that I am trotting out the rental forward list for another look, this from the perspective of who has been producing the most for the least amount of coin.
Looking at the list of pending unrestricted free agent forwards it’s very easy to become underwhelmed and frankly, a little bummed out about the Leafs ability to improve their roster, but there are some potentially interesting options in the mix as well, so not all hope is lost. Here are the rentals:
| Player | Cap Hit | Pts per $ | Age | Pos | GP | G | A | P | PPG | ATOI | GF% | CF% |
| Nick Bjugstad | $900,000 | $39,130 | 30 | C | 53 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 0.43 | 13.68 | 58.5 | 45.8 |
| Derick Brassard | $750,000 | $57,692 | 35 | C | 41 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 0.31 | 10.61 | 54.2 | 51.7 |
| Josh Leivo | $750,000 | $57,692 | 29 | LW | 38 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 0.34 | 11.5 | 50 | 52.3 |
| Noel Acciari | $1,250,000 | $69,444 | 31 | C | 52 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 0.34 | 12.41 | 40 | 43.4 |
| Max Domi | $3,000,000 | $85,714 | 27 | C | 51 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 0.68 | 14.34 | 48.1 | 42 |
| Ivan Barbashev | $2,250,000 | $93,750 | 27 | C | 52 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 0.46 | 13.52 | 49.1 | 46.6 |
| Tyler Pitlick | $750,000 | $93,750 | 31 | C | 37 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0.21 | 9.15 | 40.9 | 42.9 |
| Nick Bonino | $2,050,000 | $113,889 | 34 | C | 51 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 0.35 | 11.91 | 45.3 | 42.9 |
| Nick Ritchie | $2,500,000 | $119,048 | 27 | LW | 50 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 0.42 | 11.13 | 38.1 | 42.8 |
| Jayson Megna | $750,000 | $125,000 | 33 | C | 41 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0.14 | 8.35 | 27.33 | 41.58 |
| Patrick Brown | $750,000 | $125,000 | 30 | C | 36 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0.16 | 9.77 | 38.9 | 46.2 |
| Dylan Larkin | $6,100,000 | $127,083 | 26 | C | 50 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 0.96 | 13.07 | 47.5 | 49.6 |
| Oskar Sundqvist | $2,750,000 | $144,737 | 28 | C | 42 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 0.45 | 10.71 | 45.7 | 45.5 |
| Adam Erne | $2,100,000 | $150,000 | 27 | LW | 43 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 0.32 | 11.92 | 38.5 | 42.2 |
| Tyler Motte | $1,350,000 | $150,000 | 27 | C | 35 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0.25 | 10.37 | 54.2 | 48.2 |
| Andreas Athanasiou | $3,000,000 | $157,895 | 28 | LW | 50 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 0.38 | 13.64 | 37 | 43.2 |
| Jujhar Khaira | $975,000 | $162,500 | 28 | LW | 29 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.2 | 10.56 | 27.8 | 43.3 |
| Nathan Walker | $750,000 | $187,500 | 29 | LW | 29 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.13 | 8.98 | 50 | 36.2 |
| Gustav Nyquist | $5,500,000 | $250,000 | 33 | RW | 48 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 0.45 | 13.17 | 42.1 | 46.2 |
| Sammy Blais | $1,525,000 | $254,167 | 26 | LW | 41 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0.14 | 9.31 | 52.4 | 45.1 |
| Pius Suter | $3,250,000 | $270,833 | 26 | C | 48 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 0.25 | 11.47 | 42.9 | 45.6 |
| Patrick Kane | $10,500,000 | $300,000 | 34 | RW | 48 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 0.72 | 15.32 | 38.1 | 40.29 |
| James van Riemsdyk | $7,000,000 | $318,182 | 33 | LW | 35 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 0.62 | 12.51 | 53.5 | 50.9 |
| Evgenii Dadonov | $5,000,000 | $357,143 | 33 | RW | 43 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 0.32 | 12.02 | 44.4 | 49.5 |
| Jonathan Toews | $10,500,000 | $375,000 | 34 | C | 46 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 0.6 | 12.88 | 33.29 | 43.3 |
| Sean Monahan | $6,375,000 | $375,000 | 28 | C | 25 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 0.68 | 11.54 | 46.2 | 53.2 |
| Derek Grant | $1,500,000 | $375,000 | 32 | C | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.22 | 11.16 | 28.6 | 36.4 |
| Ryan O’Reilly | $7,500,000 | $441,176 | 32 | C | 38 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 0.44 | 13.81 | 34.5 | 49.2 |
| Jonathan Drouin | $5,500,000 | $458,333 | 27 | LW | 29 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 0.41 | 10.62 | 38.1 | 42.3 |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | $4,750,000 | $678,571 | 27 | LW | 20 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0.35 | 12.77 | 38.1 | 53.3 |
Not the most awe-inspiring list of potential additions, especially when Dylan Larkin is very likely staying put in Detroit. That puts the Chicago trio of Kane, Domi, and Toews at the top of the list for actual production with Athanasious not too far down the list either. That’s pretty grim Toews might be the best offensive option, especially if you are looking for goal scoring in the rental market, but alas he’s far from the biggest bargain.
Nick Bjugstad will absolutely be moved and moved for a decent return by the Coyotes. GMs love a veteran and if they can land one who is over-delivering on a cheap contract, even better. The buyer beware here is that no one is going to offer him the usage that he’s been getting in Arizona and his production could be attributed to getting better linemates than the fourth liners he’d get on most other clubs.
Ivan Barbashev’s down year looks decidedly less like a down year when compared to other pending UFAs. He is one shooting percentage heater away from reliving last season, but even if this season is the accurate story on him, there aren’t many better options out there.
At the other end of the spectrum, you have three interesting names. Ryan O’Reilly who has been connected to the Leafs before and has just returned from a broken foot. As much as he should likely be more of a driver of his own production, there is a good chance with offensive sport in Toronto he could do more.
Jonathan Drouin is a buy low option (in the sense of low production) that hasn’t really been discussed much. I can’t see building a whole plan around acquiring him, but in the 11th hour, there could be consideration given to acquiring someone who is clearly underdelivering on what they are capable of and hoping he can turn it around.
As for Tyler Bertuzzi, it probably doesn’t matter that he hasn’t done much. You can still point to his last season and say look how good he can and then completely ignore guys like Matt Beleskey, David Clarkson, and so many others that couldn’t keep the power forward game going forever.
I guess to some extent this information is worth pointing out because it explains why Kyle Dubas would circle back around and become aggressive about acquiring a defenseman. The offensive market is on pace to be underwhelming.
Data from PuckPedia
