A look at how some of the Leafs' departures from last season are performing with their new teams
Despite a bit of a rough start to the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a record of 15-5-5 through 25 games, good for 2nd in their division, and 3rd in the entire NHL. Despite the injury issues that have been plaguing the blueline, and some key players from last year's team signing elsewhere in the offseason, the Buds don't appear to be missing a beat. On the topic of Leafs departures, this season is almost a third of the way through, so it's a good time to take a look at some of those players and see how they are faring with their new teams.
1. Jack Campbell - Edmonton Oilers
One of the most notable departures from the Leafs this offseason was Jack Campbell. Goaltending for the Buds was up in the air, and even after acquiring Murray and signing Samsonov, there was a lot of question marks. Obviously, this move has worked out quite well for the Leafs, but for Campbell, it's been a disaster. In 13 games for the Oilers this season, Campbell has a 7-6 record, with a disastrous 4.12 GAA and .872 SV%. Having signed a 5 year, $5M AAV contract with Edmonton, there is no doubt the team and the player want things to turn around.
2. Petr Mrázek - Chicago Blackhawks
Mrázek was the second half of what was supposed to be a strong goalie tandem last season. It didn't work out in Toronto, and he was offloaded to the Blackhawks this offseason. This year, Mrázek has been downright awful, with numbers quite similar to Campbell's. Through 8 games, Mrázek has a 4.27 GAA and .878 SV%. While those numbers are terrible, Chicago is a team who is looking to rebuild, and while they were likely hoping for more from him, when they made the trade they knew what they were signing up for.
3. Ondrej Kase - Carolina Hurricanes
After an impressive yet injury-riddled season with the Leafs, Toronto didn't qualify Kase this offseason, allowing him to enter Unrestricted Free Agency. Unfortunately for Kase, injury issues have followed him to his new team, as he played the first game of the season, but has been out with a concussion since then. Quite unfortunate for Kase, and here's hoping he can get himself healthy.
4. Ilya Mikheyev - Vancouver Canucks
After an impressive season with the Leafs last year, scoring 21 goals in 53 games and being great on the penalty kill, Mikheyev priced himself out of Toronto. He ended up signing with the Canucks on a 4 year, $4.75M AAV deal, and has had a decent start with his new team. Through 21 games, Mikheyev has registered 6 goals and 13 points, which is a 23-goal and 50-point pace over 82 games, all the while providing great speed on the rush and strong play on the PK. It's great to see Mikheyev get paid and have a good start with his new team, and although the Leafs never could have afforded this contract, he is certainly missed.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 2 | 1504 ANSWERS A look at how some of the Leafs' departures from last season are performing with their new teams Who do the Leafs miss the most this season? | ||
| Campbell | 35 | 2.3 % |
| Mikheyev | 638 | 42.4 % |
| Kase | 95 | 6.3 % |
| They don't miss any of these guys right now! | 736 | 48.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
