Former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Semyon Der-Arguchintsev is apparently seeking a return to the club and the NHL. But with the current makeup of the Maple Leafs, how realistic is that?
There has been a rather interesting development regarding the Toronto Maple Leafs and a former prospect of the franchise, who has spent the past three years playing in the KHL.
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, drafted by Toronto 76th overall in the 2018 NHL draft, has expressed interest in rejoining the Maple Leafs and playing in the NHL.
The latest on Der-Arguchintsev is that he was traded in the KHL from Dynamo Moscow to Vladivostok, but doesn't plan on playing for the team that has acquired him, according to his agent, Shumi Babaev, who spoke to RB Sport. This highlights Der-Arguchintsev's intentions to return to North America.
Der-Arguchintsev's trade and his decision to decline to play for Vladivostok came after his representative's initial comments to R.org on April 28. In this instance, before Toronto hired John Chayka as the GM, Babaev revealed that he had been in contact with former Leafs GM Brad Treliving.
"Semyon is considering the option of returning to Toronto," Babaev told R.org. "We contacted former general manager Brad Treliving and expressed our desire to return to the club’s system. Now we are waiting for the appointment of a new general manager and to understand his position," Babaev said.
Most recently, last documented on Sunday, Babaev commented to RB Sport that there has been a certain process that has been underway with the Maple Leafs.
"I can't comment on it," Der-Arguchintsev's agent said.
It's clear, based on what Babaev has been revealing, that Der-Arguchintsev wants to return to playing hockey in North America, and preferably for the Maple Leafs. But just how realistic is that?
Babaev truly sees an NHL future for Der-Arguchintsev, but knows the path won't be linear.
"I believe Semyon is ready for the NHL," he said. "Of course, he has to be ready for the possibility of playing in the AHL, but there is no point in going there just for that. We are talking about a one-way contract with a salary closer to the league minimum."
Even on a flexible contract like the one-year, league-minimum deal that he suggested, it would be fairly challenging for Der-Arguchintsev to crack the Maple Leafs' NHL roster.
The right-handed center hasn't played in North America since the 2022-23 campaign. He featured in 50 contests with the AHL's Toronto Marlies and scored a solid 12 goals and 40 points. He also made one appearance for the Maple Leafs on Dec. 6 against the Dallas Stars.
In a perfect world, for the player and the team, Der-Arguchintsev would get a look in the bottom six with Toronto. That would allow management and the coaching staff to truly evaluate him at the NHL level and decipher if he could contribute as a roster player.
The issue with that scenario is that there already isn't much space on the NHL roster. On July 1, Chayka added forwards Nick Paul, Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger and Brandon Duhaime, most of whom could have a role in the bottom six.
If the Maple Leafs and Der-Arguchintsev agreed on some sort of contract and plan, it would likely involve him seeing a lot of time in the AHL. That would allow Toronto to have frequent tabs on him and call him up at any point, including the purpose of filling in for injuries.
However, despite Babaev understanding that AHL time for Der-Arguchintsev is very likely and expected, he's not interested in his client spending an extended period of his stint in the minors.
At the end of the day, there is value in bringing Der-Arguchintsev aboard. After all, he'll still be 26 years old going into this coming season and is a talented offensive player known for his playmaking.
This past season, in 59 regular-season games split between Dynamo Moscow and Vladivostok, Der-Arguchintsev scored six goals and 36 points.
His best season in the KHL was in 2023-24 when he recorded 17 goals and 34 points in 57 regular-season contests, as well as 10 points in 13 playoff games.
See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
