Hyman is on the verge of hitting 50 goals for the first time in his career, and it could happen inside Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
Zach Hyman is back in Toronto and hitting the 50-goal mark is definitely on his mind.
The forward has never reached the feat of scoring 50 goals in a season. Hyman had 36 goals in 79 games last year, but now he has the chance to arrive at the mark against his former team.
"Yeah, I think it would be pretty special," he said when asked about how it'd feel to hit the mark against the Maple Leafs. "I don't think many people thought that I'd have the opportunity to do it here, obviously. But, yeah, it would be pretty special."
Hyman needs two goals to reach the milestone, but isn't worried about when it'll come. Whether it's in Toronto or not, the 31-year-old believes reaching the milestone is possible.
"I was four goals away going into Buffalo, so (I thought it was) probably not realistic. And then (I) scored two against Buffalo, so then it was, 'Okay, I've scored two goals before.' But everybody's making a big deal out of it," Hyman said.
"I said it before, I don't think I've won here yet so that's the focus, and you can never really choose when you score. You go to the areas and you make plays and you try to do your part."
Hyman's line mate, Connor McDavid — who's contributed to plenty of his goals this season — is not only excited for an opportunity to play the Maple Leafs again, but also to see the former Toronto player potentially score 50.
"It'd be great. Obviously to see him achieve that accomplishment at any point would be great," McDavid said. "But obviously this building means a lot to him, playing here, being from here, lots of family here, it'd be great."
One of Hyman's top qualities as a player is how strong he is around the opposing team's net. Several people raved about it inside Scotiabank Arena on Saturday ahead of the Edmonton Oilers' matchup against the Maple Leafs.
Former teammate and friend, William Nylander, called Hyman "one of the hardest working guys" he's ever met while also adding how "dedicated" the forward is. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch also says the biggest thing that's allowed Hyman to have success is his play around the net.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe might've had the best quote of the day about Hyman. Keefe said while with the Marlies, the team called Hyman, "Shaq Hyman" because of how good he is in and around the crease.
"He got to the paint more, and better, than anybody," Keefe added. "And now he's playing with the guy that gets the puck to the paint and tilts the ice more than anybody maybe in the history of the game.
"It's a good fit and he works to get to the right places and he's getting rewarded for it."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIV5bHURAzI[/embed]
But the plan for the Maple Leafs is to not allow Hyman to reach the milestone. They don't want the forward to reach the 50-goal mark against them, especially inside Scotiabank Arena.
"Not tonight," Nylander said with a huge grin.
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