The Toronto Maple Leafs failed to extend an offer to Brandon Lisowsky, a prospect, by the deadline of June 1st.
At the age of 20, Lisowsky will now reenter the NHL draft. The Leafs selected Lisowsky with the 218th overall choice in the seventh round of the 2022 NHL draft.
Though it’s unlikely, on July 1st he will become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) if he is not selected in the draft.
Since there is a 50 contract restriction and they don’t think the seventh-round pick will be able to realize his full potential in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs are probably passing on Lisowsky. They might later regret doing this.
The Toronto Maple Leafs May Later Remorse Their Most Recent Choice
At 5’9″, Lisowsky weighs 181 pounds. His season with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades was fantastic; in 68 games, he scored 42 goals and provided 38 assists for 80 points. For someone Lisowsky’s size, such numbers might not translate well into the NHL. I have a suspicion that the Leafs would have signed him if he had been 5’11” or taller.
There is a 50-contract cap and the Leafs currently have 33 players under contract. The Leafs appear to have plenty of room to sign players, but not everyone can clearly return given that the team has 20 free agents.
I believe that despite Lisowsky’s 80 points in 68 WHL games, general manager Brad Treliving of the Leafs has come to the conclusion that he will not be a full-time NHL player for the team.
Treliving and the Leafs made the right decision in not signing Lisowsky, hopefully, and it won’t come back to bite them in the rear in the future. It’s difficult to ignore thoughts like Mason Marchment or Carter Verhaege when a player leaves the team.
Since Treliving became general manager, Lisowsky is not the first tiny prospect to leave the Leafs organization; nonetheless, a fundamental tenet of the Brendan Shanahan Era has been to reject selections based solely on size. The Leafs would sign him if they believed he would play NHL hockey.
You hope this isn’t a mistake, but at it’s best, trying to forecast how young players will eventually do at the pro level is a difficult process. All you can do is hope the player the Leafs go with instead turns out to be better.
