Former Leafs defenseman already a disappointment on his new team
Justin Holl's tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs finally came to an end this summer after spending 8 seasons with the Leafs organization. The Tonka Bay, Minnesota native first suited up for the Toronto Marlies all the way back in 2015-16, playing 3 seasons in the American Hockey League before finally making the jump to the NHL in 2017-18.
During his time with the Leafs, Holl was about as maligned as a player can possibly be, often playing the role of whipping boy for the volatile Maple Leafs fanbase, despite only making $2M per season during final 3 years in Toronto and providing the Leafs with more than their money's worth on the penalty kill alone.
All things considered, Holl didn't necessarily make a lot of mistakes, but the ones that he did make were usually more noticeable because the result was often the puck being fished out of the back of the Leafs' net, which made him seem a lot worse than he actually was - not that he was great. He was just, for lack of a better term, another guy.
Holl finally got a fresh start with a new organization this summer, inking a 3-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings worth $3.4M per season. With a salary like that, you'd have assumed that he'd be a lock to be one of the starting 6 in Detroit this week, right? Well, not necessarily.
Per Red Wings correspondent Helene St. James, the Red Wings had Holl skating as the team's 7th defenseman at practice on Tuesday.
Not that anyone in Toronto necessarily wishes any ill will towards Holl, but most Leaf fans saw this coming from a mile away, which is why most of us were surprised to see Holl's $3.4M AAV. Yes, he's a big boy, at 6'3 and 200 lbs, and yes, he kills penalties, but for most of us who had watched Holl develop over his time in Toronto could have told you from day one that he's not a $3.4M defenseman.
Holl is still new to the organization, so perhaps once he's had some more time to learn the system and develop some chemistry with his new teammates at practice, he'll be able to slot comfortably into that RD2 or RD3 slot for the Wings. For now, though, the deal seems to be a dud even before it officially begins.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 10 | 369 ANSWERS Former Leafs defenseman already a disappointment on his new team Will Justin Holl play out the full 3-year term of his contract with the Red Wings organization? | ||
| Yes | 50 | 13.6 % |
| No | 319 | 86.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
