Oilers Benefitting From Maple Leafs' Costly Misstep
Edmonton Oilers have been reaping the rewards of signing a former Toronto Maple Leafs forward.
EDMONTON -- As of the moment of this writing the Edmonton Oilers sit in second place in the Pacific Division - with the Vancouver Canucks the only team ahead of them. With 74 points they are one point ahead of the Golden Knights and nine points back of the Canucks.
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The Oilers fortunate position in the standings is in no small part due to the play of Zach Hyman. He has been the Oilers most consistent point producer and hardest worker throughout the entirety of the 2023-24 season to date.
Although he didn't register a point in last night's game, he has 59 points in 57 games this season. With a 40-goal season already in his back pocket before the trade deadline it's safe to expect him to hit 50 before season's end.
To that end, the Oilers management may need to send Kyle Dubas some token of appreciation - or at least a fruit basket.
In the summer of 2021 the Toronto Maple Leafs had decided that they weren't going to re-sign Hyman. They were even taking calls on trading his rights before the first day of Free Agency so that a team could have the opportunity to sign him for that extra eighth season.
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Ken Holland and company waited until July 1st, and then signed him to a seven year $5.5-million cap hit contract. In the third season of that deal and this is looking like one of the best moves Holland has had with the Oilers.
Hyman has been racking up the points more easily the longer he stays with the team. He had 54 points his first year, 83 points last year and he is on pace to at least match last year's total this year. With the Maple Leafs, the most he had was 41.
However the Maple Leafs feel about losing him, the Oilers certainly feel overjoyed to have Hyman's positive energy (and goal scoring knack) on the team.
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