DFO Rundown: Zach Hyman declined Leafs $5 million offer
The Toronto Maple Leafs and forward @Zach Hyman might be parting ways this summer.
On Friday’s episode of The DFO Rundown, Jason Gregor said that he heard Hyman declined an offer from the Leafs worth $5 million annually. Chris Johnston, an insider from Sportsnet based in Toronto, followed up by saying that he expects other teams around the league to offer Hyman close to $6 million annually and that the Leafs will have to move on.
GREGOR: Speaking of Zach Hyman, I heard a rumour, and I’m not sure how true it is, but they offered him $5 million and he said no. Is that what you’re hearing? You’re a lot closer to it. That number seems pretty high to me. I like Zach Hyman, I think he’s a really good player, but I think he’s more of a complimentary winger than any sort of driver. Are you thinking he could get more than that on the open market?
JOHNSTON: I fully expect him to get more than that. You like him? They love him [in Toronto]. This is one of those weird circumstances, he’s a local player, he’s grown up with the core of the team, he played one year in the AHL when William Nylander was there. His first NHL season was with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner and he’s been a core part of this team without getting the love nationally.
But if this was a non-salary cap league he probably already would have been signed and he would be a good candidate to be a life-long Toronto Maple Leaf. I see no reason why he or they wouldn’t want that to happen. What’s going to happen now is that there are other teams who will take Hyman close to $6 million, in my opinion. I’m very confident he’s getting above $5 million on a long-term-ish deal and I’m just not sure Toronto can go there.
Hyman, a Toronto native, was originally drafted by the Florida Panthers in the fifth round of the 2010 draft. He spent five seasons in the Panthers organization before getting shipped to the Leafs in exchange for Greg McKegg.
After spending a season in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies, Hyman broke into the league as a depth forward. From there, he’s become a key member of Toronto’s top-six. Last season, Hyman scored 15 goals and 33 points over the course of 43 games playing mostly with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
Hyman turns 29 years old in June and this will be the best chance in his career to earn a substantial payday. He’s coming off of a very team-friendly four-year deal worth $9 million and he’ll be able to earn significantly more on the open market. The hope for the Leafs was that Hyman would take a hometown discount, but that hasn’t yet been the case for any of their internally developed players.