Zach Hyman is now two goals away from his first 50-goal campaign. With his recent success, are the Leafs now seeing him as the one that got away?
Back in the summer of 2021, the Maple Leafs lost winger Zach Hyman in free agency to the Edmonton Oilers. Fast forward to today, that same Zach Hyman is a mere two goals shy of his first 50-goal season. The Leafs and Oilers are only separated by one point in the standings, but Hyman's electric play may be making the Leafs wish they still had their old forward to pair alongside Matthews and the rest of their core group.
Hyman currently commands $5.5 million per year and is in the third year of a seven-year deal. That is nearly half of the yearly cap hit of Mitch Marner, and still over a million less than William Nylander. Toronto does have Tyler Bertuzzi at the same cap hit as Hyman, but his contract ends after this season, making his deal a little more team-friendly than the seven-year deal Hyman is on with Edmonton. Whether the Leafs regret losing Hyman given his recent success is up for debate, but only time will tell which team was better off between Edmonton and Toronto.
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