HYMAN HAPPY TO TEAM WITH TAVARES IF ASKED
Like the rest of the Leafs and their fans, winger looking forward to star’s arrival
Zach Hyman has been a bigpicture guy during his time as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The industrious winger puts the team before himself each time he steps on the ice, and with that in mind, the Leafs’ recent signing of John Tavares — and coach Mike Babcock’s plan to put Hyman on Tavares’ left side — is significant.
A Toronto native and Leafs fan since his youth, Hyman has felt the pain any supporter would when the years were lean for the blue and white.
Time was, a player of Tavares’ ilk wouldn’t have looked twice at the Leafs, no matter if he hailed from the area.
When Brendan Shanahan was hired as Leafs president in 2014, the culture began to turn for the good, and there shouldn’t be surprise if more stars find Toronto desirable.
“It’s really hard to add somebody like John,” Hyman said Tuesday at the Mastercard Centre, taking a break from guestinstructing at the Leafs’ summer hockey school.
“It doesn’t happen (often), so when you are able to add a player of his calibre, it’s great for our team, it’s great for our city.
“It means a lot to us. We have worked really hard to try to get ourselves in a position where we’re a contender and I think that is a draw for a guy like him. “Maybe if we weren’t in the position we are, maybe he does not choose to come here. “We have tried to get better every year. I think we have a good core of guys and he is going to be a huge addition to it. It means a lot to us to have a guy like him want to play at home and want to play with us.”
Babcock hasn’t yet relayed his idea — to put Tavares between Hyman and Mitch Marner — to Hyman personally. Replacing Hyman on the left wing with Auston Matthews and William Nylander would be 20-year veteran Patrick Marleau.
The 26-year-old Hyman, who will enter his third full season with the Leafs in 2018-19, is a fan of the idea of skating with Tavares, but is taking a wait-and-see approach.
Certainly, there would be no shirking of responsibility, considering the trust Babcock put in Hyman when he used him with Matthews. “You don’t know anything is set until you see a lineup, but if I have the chance to play with Mitch and John, it’s a huge opportunity,” Hyman said. “Mitch is an elite passer (among other skills) and from what I have seen of John, he does it all. He is a 200-foot player who can score, pass, make plays.
“I have been in a good situation with Auston and Willie and I have had success with them. Wherever Mike sees me fitting in the best is where I’m going to be happy.”
Hyman has been a regular at the Mastercard Centre, Leafs’ training facility. The memory of being ousted by the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs more than two months ago is fading with each day.
As difficult as it was for Hyman to watch integral Leafs depart for other cities — James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak are among the seven players no longer with the team — there’s optimism rooted in other developments. The experience several players gained in the Toronto Marlies’ Calder Cup championship will only help.
“It’s going to be a big turnover,” Hyman said. “But we have guys who are coming up from the Marlies who are ready and I think that’s going to be good. “It’s always hard to see teammates leave, but I was happy that each of them are in a situation to succeed and they each got a great contract. They all did well for themselves, and that is all you can want for your friends.”
All the while, Hyman keeps in mind the rather large Tavares factor.
“I’m excited because he has been in the league for so long and he has been doing it at such a high level,” Hyman said. “We’re still going to be a young team, so he will be a guy that a lot of us can look up to and you can emulate. He’s going to be great to have.”