When Hyman's 4-year contract was coming to an end in the summer of 2021, many Leaf fans were hoping that he would be willing to take a hometown discount and remain a Leaf. An immediate fan favourite because of his work ethic and humbleness, Hyman lived out a childhood dream being able to wear the Maple Leaf for parts of six seasons. Unfortunately, the Leafs were in a cap crunch when it was time for him to get a new contract and while the Leafs could have made it work, they were not willing to according to Hyman.
Ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals tomorrow, players from both the Oilers and Florida Panthers spoke with the media and fielded all types of questions. One question asked to Hyman was about the decision to leave Toronto to sign a 7-year, $38.5M deal with the Oilers and his reply was surprising to say the least.
Clearly Hyman wanted to return, but ultimately, Kyle Dubas and the Leafs decided to move on from Hyman and replace him with a similar player in Michael Bunting. Leaf fans were happy to see Hyman get paid, but the decision to let him walk is turning out to be one, if not the biggest mistake of Dubas' tenure in Toronto.
