Front office changes and college free agents: Leaflets

This summer has some Brian Burke era vibes going on. Not so much the bluster but the unfulfilled promises. Morgan Rielly was going to move on. The Leafs were going to take a run at a Zach Werenski calibre trade candidate. The Gavin McKenna era lottery win meant not only fighting for a playoff spot this season but taking a run at contention again. While a lot was done, the big stuff hasn’t materialized. The Leafs are limited by what is available to them, and it’s hard to accuse the team of complacency this offseason, but with a month until training camp, it’s okay to be left wanting.

Here are a few random thoughts on the Leafs.

On Andy O’Brien and Patrick O’Sullivan:

It seems like all the right things are being said about Andy O’Brien, and he’s saying all the right things about the Maple Leafs top free agent acquisition. His reputation seems strong, and there’s good reason to be excited.

For Patrick O’Sullivan, he survived the Maple Leafs Hockey Ops purge and came out of it with a promotion. His reputation within the organization and likely with the players is probably the reason for that even if his behaviour during his brief stint as a Toronto media personality is raising a few red flags.

Fans don’t need to like any of these guys, and not knowing what to think of these hires is fair. Even if you aren’t convinced on John Chayka, the way for him to succeed is to have his people in place, and he has done that. Given the large number of Kyle Dubas/Brendan Shanahan era people who have been cleared out, it’s likely Brad Treliving never fully had that opportunity. That’s not an excuse for him, but his hands were tied.

There won’t be any excuses for John Chayka if the culture isn’t there.

Random Thought on Ryan Hardy

This is a short thought, but if the Marlies didn’t win the Calder Cup, would Hardy have been part of the Hockey Ops exodus?

Absolutely, everyone else was shown the door, but it seems like Hardy was too successful to be let go. It will be interesting to see how things develop over the season.

College Free Agent Day

August 15th is when unsigned NCAA graduates hit free agency. From a Leafs perspective, this means that Joe Miller is now an unrestricted free agent eligible to sign with any team at any level. Joe Miller has some Chicago Steel connections to Ryan Hardy, and if something better doesn’t materialize, there could be a path to Cincinnati for him, though graduating with a degree from Harvard to play in the ECHL is an interesting choice.

This is also a chance to round out the Marlies roster. A player like Noah Ellis, a 6-foot-3 right-shot defenceman, is worth taking a look at. Given that he already has a minor league contract, he would need to be signed on an NHL contract to be brought to the Leafs, so that seems unlikely.

Sutter Muzzatti is a 6’6 winger who plays a tough game. While not a priority, it is a need that might be filled well via NCAA free agency.

Cruz Lucius is on the younger side and had strong numbers for Arizona State last year. He might be the catch of the bunch. He had 46 points in 36 games, consistently being close to a point per game throughout college.

Any player available is a development project. The Leafs have done okay in that regard recently, and while their prospect system is still light, players available in college free agency might be worth looking at.