Zach Hyman the Latest Maple Leaf Who Got Away

After seeing Edmonton Oilers’ forward Zach Hyman score his 50th goal of the season, it brought up the discussion of why he left the Toronto Maple Leafs — or why they let him walk to free agency. Well, on the JD Bunkis podcast on Sportsnet, guest James Mirtle of The Athletic seemed to break it all down. He said, “He was going to come for less; the cap hit was going to be lower; it was going to be more years.”

Mirtle would go on to say, “It was so close to getting done, but I still never got a great answer as to why it didn’t get done. I remember getting the text saying he’s going to Edmonton. I was like, wow, where did this go wrong? He should have been a guy who played his whole career in Toronto, and I think that’s what he wanted to do.” He ended the segment by sharing an interesting piece of information: “The Maple Leafs’ brass was so worried about the cap and so worried about having another “overpay” that were really fighting to get the nickels down, and I don’t know what the cap hit was, but it would have been under $5 [million] for eight years, at most $5 [million], and the rumours are part of it was the no-trade/no-movement language on it.”

Related: Hockey World Blasts Viral Video Discrediting Hyman’s 50 Goals

Did former general manager Kyle Dubas let Hyman walk to free agency over nickels and dimes? It appears he did, at least according to Mirtle, which makes this even tougher to watch from the Maple Leafs fans’ perspective. Leafs Nation could have had Hyman for several more years for even cheaper than he signed with the Oilers. Instead, they are forced to watch him play the best hockey of his career elsewhere.

Hyman was originally drafted by the Florida Panthers in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, and his rights were traded to his hometown team, the Maple Leafs, in 2015. Hyman was a project that turned into a success for his new team. Being an Ontario kid, he was fulfilling a dream of so many to play for the Maple Leafs. He quickly became a fan favourite with his hard-nosed style of play. He can go into the corners and battle for pucks and almost always win them. To me, his time with the Maple Leafs was highlighted by the playoff series in 2019 against the Boston Bruins, when he played the rest of the series on a torn ACL. That was when I wanted him to be a member of this organization for the rest of his career.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. It seemed the Maple Leafs management group led by Dubas decided to play hardball with Hyman rather than the big stars, and that caused him to look elsewhere. Since he left the Maple Leafs, the team has been searching for a new version of Hyman, a player who can play alongside Auston Matthews and be able to produce offensively. It’s what Nick Ritchie was supposed to be, as well as Michael Bunting. Now the team has Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi trying to do their best Hyman impression, but sadly, no one brings what Hyman did.

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Which makes you wonder why Dubas chose Hyman’s contract negotiation to stand his ground, and now with the top stars? It cost them a player who could have been a Maple Leaf for life and now has gone on to play the best hockey of his career at the age of 31, while only making $5.5 million per season.

On July 28, 2021, the Oilers announced they had signed Hyman to a seven-year deal worth $38.5 million with an average annual value of $5.5 million. They were able to give him exactly what he wanted in terms of a full no-movement clause, which gives him full control as to what happens to him and his future. For a player like Hyman, who has worked as hard as he has to get to where he is, this is an ideal contract stipulation to have to ensure that if you have any type of down seasons(s), then the team can’t do whatever they want with you. This could also allow him to one day return to the Maple Leafs’ organization if the Oilers decide later in the contract they want to go another direction, because he has full say in where he ends up. However, as of now, he is an Oiler and has proven he can score in the NHL alongside Connor McDavid.

Hyman, who is now in his third season with the Oilers, has scored 51 goals and 19 assists for 70 points in 69 games in 2023-24. He is only 13 points away from his career-high in points, which he reached last season with 83. During his time with the Oilers, he has 114 goals and 93 assists for 207 total points. During his time with the Maple Leafs, he played parts of six seasons and had 86 goals and 99 assists for 185 points. Hyman has made the most of his opportunity with the Oilers and scored more points in three seasons with his new team than he did in six with the Maple Leafs.

The more Leafs Nation hears about how well Hyman is playing, the more they wish he never left. It is unfortunate how the business side of sports works, especially when you grow to love a player on the team you cheer for and one day they end up leaving over a contract dispute. However, in this case, it seems Dubas didn’t do what was best for the team at the time, and it cost the Maple Leafs one of the most-liked players in the last decade. This puts him on the list of “the ones that got away” from the Maple Leafs organization. The question now would be, is the Hyman signing one of the best free-agency signings in NHL history? I do believe that it is, regardless of how the back half of that deal turns out. He is a 50-goal scorer, making only $5.5 million per season.