Hyman gears up to take on friends
Leafs will finally feel what it’s like to be on recieving end of former teammate’s speed, intensity
It’s a shame there won’t be a crowd to welcome back Zach Hyman. Or boo him for bolting the Maple Leafs and signing with the Edmonton Oilers as a free agent.
But fans or no fans, Hyman will be lining up against the team that he loved as kid and that developed him as a professional. It’s a team filled with friends.
“I’ve thought about it, but haven’t thought about it too much in the sense that I don’t know what it’s going to feel like,” Hyman said. “You don’t know until you’re out there playing, because it’ll be my first time playing against those guys.
“But I imagine it’ll just be another game. It’ll be a little different without the fans there, so maybe it will feel like a scrimmage out there against those guys. But we’re used to playing without fans; unfortunately, we did it a bunch last year. It would have been a lot more meaningful if we had a full building worth of fans. But it’ll still be something that I remember, playing against these guys.”
Morgan Rielly, the longest-serving Leaf and Hyman’s teammate from 2016 until 2021, will likely be on the receiving end of Hyman’s tenacious forechecking.
“He’s a good player and a good friend, and I think, the way that he plays, it makes it tough on his opponents,” Rielly said. “It’s important that our group is aware when he’s on the ice. He likes to play with a lot of speed, a lot of intensity. So we’ll wait and see. But he typically plays pretty hard. I’m sure he’ll be competing Wednesday night.”
The Leafs beat the Oilers 5-1 in Edmonton on Dec. 14. That was the Oilers’ sixth loss in a row, and they are 2-2-2 since. It was only two games ago for the Leafs, who saw a bunch of games postponed immediately after the Edmonton game.
Hyman missed that game with a shoulder injury.
Hyman’s first game against his former team might end up being the focal point in a matchup that may be played without Leafs star Auston Matthews and Oilers captain Connor McDavid, both of whom were sidelined Tuesday due to COVID protocols. They were awaiting clearance through further testing to know whether they could play Wednesday.
Just another kick in the teeth by COVID for hockey fans who will have to watch from home because they’re not allowed in the Scotiabank Arena.
“It’s reality, right?” Hyman said. “I think that people have been disappointed for the last couple of years now, so I think everybody’s used to it. Obviously you would like to have fans in the building and you would like it to be normal, and everybody to be playing on both sides.
“But the reality is we’re still in this and hopefully we’re coming out of it now and things can get back to normal soon.”
There was much fretting in Leafs Nation about how the team might replace Hyman, who blossomed into a secondary goal scorer and always seemed to energize whatever line he played on.
The role now is played largely by Michael Bunting, a bargain at a cap hit of $925,000 (U.S.) a year, compared to Hyman’s $5.5-million annual salary.
Both are from Toronto. Both grew up Leaf fans. Bunting is 26, three years younger than Hyman. Bunting has seven goals and 12 assists in 34 games, averaging 14 minutes, 48 seconds of ice time. Hyman has 11 goals and nine assists in 30 games, averaging 19:05, which includes 1:54 a game of penalty-killing time.
When Hyman was Bunting’s age, he broke through with his first 20goal season (21 in 71 games played). But Hyman has a lot of hockey miles on his body, including knee surgery.
It’s probably not fair to compare Bunting, still officially a rookie, to Hyman, who is in the prime of his career.
“I don’t really pay attention to much of that,” Bunting said. “I just focus on myself. I focus on my game every single night, and that’s all I really worry about. Obviously he had a great career in Toronto and he’s played well. And I’m sure he’s really excited to play us.” Indeed, Hyman is. “Toronto is always going to be home for me,” Hyman said. “I’m back in the summertime and it’s nice to be back for a day. Can’t really do much. Everything’s closed, obviously. But it’s always good to be back.”