As implausible as it may seem, the Toronto Maple Leafs have managed to replace Mitch Marner’s production with a trio of players. This past offseason, the plan was to spread out Marner’s point total by landing three players instead of one.
Those players with Matias Maccelli, Nic Roy, and Dakota Joshua. Maccelli joined the Maple Leafs in a trade with the Utah Mammoth. Joshua came via another swap with the Vancouver Canucks. And Roy came back as part of the Marner sign-and-trade deal.
Thus far, the move has largely worked. Marner has nine goals and 31 assists or 40 points in 38 games for the Vegas Golden Knights. The numbers are not overly impressive, but consistent with Marner’s point-per-game pace.
As for the Maple Leafs’ trio, Maccelli has six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 29 games. Roy has four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 37 games. Meanwhile, Joshua has six goals and four assists for 10 points in 36 games. That’s 16 goals and 23 assists for a total of 39 points in about 37 games.
That’s a strikingly similar output.
Despite the criticism, the Maple Leafs trio has been on par with Marner’s output. Most importantly, they’ve done so for a lower cap hit. Combined, the trio makes about $9.7 million against the cap. Marner, for his part, costs the Golden Knights $12 million.
When looking at the numbers and cap hits, the Maple Leafs have been getting similar production while saving about $2.5 million against the cap.
Maple Leafs May Need to Find Replacement for Joshua
Dakota Joshua had seemingly found his scoring touch, scoring in back-to-back games in December. Unfortunately, Joshua had gone scoreless in his last six games before landing on IR. According to Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube, Joshua could be on the shelf for some time.
That situation means that the Maple Leafs will need to find a replacement for Joshua. The solution, it seems, could be internal. Rookie Easton Cowan and Nick Robertson have played well alongside Nic Roy over the last couple of games.
Maccelli, for his part, has seemingly picked up his game. He scored a nifty goal on Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets. As such, it could be that the Maple Leafs have internal options to pick up the slack for the injured Joshua.
Toronto Still Looking to Add
Thursday night’s win over the Jets lifted the Maple Leafs to within two points of the Buffalo Sabres (yes, the Sabres) for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
With the Maple Leafs now riding a two-game winning streak, Toronto could still be looking to add. While that won’t be easy, the club remains open to bringing in additional pieces to bolster the roster.
It’s unclear what specific players the Maple Leafs have in mind. Despite ongoing rumors, a tight cap situation and a lack of assets make it challenging for Brad Treliving to pull the trigger. Nevertheless, the Leafs have returned to the playoff picture. If they can continue their recent play, the Leafs could shoot up the Atlantic Division standings and back into the playoff picture.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Maple Leafs Plan to Replace Marner Has Pretty Much Worked appeared first on Heavy Sports.