2020 NHL Season: Grading the Toronto Maple Leafs’ left wingers at season pause
By Simon Vacca
Andreas Johnsson
Games Played: 43
Goals: 8
Assists: 13
Points: 21
Andreas Johnsson’s 2019-20 season was undoubtedly of the trying variety.
The 25-year-old battled multiple injuries — the likes of which were rather serious in nature. He managed to total 8 goals and 13 assists for 21 points in 43 matchups, amounting to good — but not necessarily great — hockey.
I do not want to understate Johnsson’s set of skills. He has been a talented winger who can act as a serviceable option both inside and outside of Toronto’s top-six. The former recipient of the Jack Butterfield Trophy as MVP of the Calder Cup, Johnsson is currently signed to a four-year contract that carries an average annual value of $3.4 million.
The question among many, nonetheless, remains connected to the club’s asset management. Amidst Johnsson’s absence from the Maple Leafs’ lineup throughout the 2019-20 campaign, the team’s depth was tested on a recurring basis — a process that resulted in the aforementioned Engvall, Ilya Mikheyev and Denis Malgin, among others, emerging as wing options. Add the fact that the team recently signed Alexander Barabanov to a one-year, entry-level contract and you have yourself a degree of insight into one of the organization’s more interesting dilemmas.
Will Johnsson be rendered the odd man out in the not so distant future? Or will Toronto’s administrative body opt to roll the dice on the prospect of keeping the Swedish forward?
Only time will tell, but expect a degree of resolution to be introduced in the offseason, as the Maple Leafs look to fix their defensive struggles.
Grade: B