Insider reveals who in the Leafs' locker room he thinks will stay and who thinks will be on the move
Just 10 days ago, NHL Insider Chris Johnston made an appearance on the Steve Dangle Podcast to discuss a wide variety of subjects, including responding to some rapid fire questions on who will stay and who will go this summer.
In terms of who would be staying, Johnston is already 2-for-4 with his predictions, as he hypothesized that Jason Spezza (staying, but not as a player), Mark Giordano, Wayne Simmonds (might not be playing) and Pierre Engvall would all be back next season.
Johnston nailed it with his Spezza prediction, though he may have had some information about that prior to the official announcement, as he did not seem to hesitate with his response. He also called the Giordano return days before it happened. While the Simmonds and Engvall predictions are yet to come to fruition, it would stand to reason that both will be back, with Simmonds perhaps being the team's 13th forward and not an every night player.
In terms of who may be departing, Johnston didn't waste much time in responding as to who may be on their way out, listing Mrazek and Holl - which I don't think surprises anyone, but also listing Mikheyev, Campbell and Kerfoot as pieces who are likely to be moving on this summer. There was also a "not sure" list, which included Ilya Lyubushkin, Jake Muzzin and Colin Blackwell.
If Johnston does have some inside information that he's using to make these determinations (and he probably does), we're going be looking at a VERY different Leafs team next season, despite the fact that the "Core 4" and a lot of the defenders will reprise their roles for the club in 2022-23. We're used to seeing new faces in Toronto every year, but this might be most significant roster turnover that we've seen since the team tore it down and rebuilt.
| POLL | ||
MAI 30 | 325 ANSWERS Insider reveals who in the Leafs' locker room he thinks will stay and who thinks will be on the move Of the players CJ listed, who would you be the most surprised to see back next year? | ||
| Mikheyev | 92 | 28.3 % |
| Campbell | 63 | 19.4 % |
| Holl | 61 | 18.8 % |
| Mrazek | 109 | 33.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
