By Alex Hobson
After free agency began on July 1st, almost every Leafs fan understood the pattern of signings that Leafs management had up their sleeve. Sign cheap players to one year deals and trade them at the trade deadline. They had already brought in several players such as P.A Parenteau, Mark Arcobello, and Matt Hunwick, but on July 6th, the Leafs announced the signing of free agent forward Shawn Matthias to a one year contract worth $2.3 million. Matthias, a Toronto native, tweeted that he was happy to throw on the Leafs jersey and excited to get started, so let's find out what we can expect from Matthias to kill time before the season starts.
The 27 year old Matthias spent his NHL career splitting time between the Florida Panthers and the Vancouver Canucks. He spent four and a half seasons with the Panthers before being dealt along with goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the Canucks in exchange for goaltender Roberto Luongo. Matthias then posted a career high in goals with 18 in 2014-15, but despite his career year the Canucks opted not to sign him, where he entered free agency and joined the Leafs. He's a very big forward, standing at 6'4 and 220lb, and he brings offensive skill to the lineup. He can play both centre and left wing, and can be used as a utility forward. All in all, Matthias is a decently valuable forward and for a cheap price, can be used as trade bait at the deadline for contenders.
STATUS: RENTAL
This is yet another case where a player is on a one year contract, therefore it would make more sense for the rebuilding Leafs to trade him for value at the deadline rather than let him walk for nothing. As of now, it's tough to say what the Leafs could want in return for him is considering he hasn't played yet. If he records more than 40 points, they could ask for a first round pick, if he performs poorly and records as low as 20, they could look to score maybe a 4th rounder for him.
2015-16 ROLE: 3RD LINE FORWARD
The Leafs have tons of players that could be used as centres, so it's tough to say whether Matthias will be used as a centre or winger, when players such as Mark Arcobello and Nick Spaling could likely be playing centre. But given the Leafs depth, Matthias would likely end up getting him a spot on the 3rd line.
What do you think of the acquisition of Matthias, Leafs fans? Weigh in below.
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