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Toronto Maple Leafs: Josh Leivo vs. Tyler Ennis

By Thomas G

ST. PAUL, MN - DECEMBER 14: Toronto Maple Leafs Right Wing Josh Leivo (32) warms up before a NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs on December 14, 2017 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN.The Wild defeated the Maple Leafs 2-0.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - DECEMBER 14: Toronto Maple Leafs Right Wing Josh Leivo (32) warms up before a NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs on December 14, 2017 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN.The Wild defeated the Maple Leafs 2-0.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Tyler Ennis and Josh Leivo should compete for one of the few precious open spots on the Toronto Maple Leafs

Poor Josh Leivo. On other teams, he would be a third or fourth liner. Leivo might even be a second line forward on a team struggling with wing depth. With the Toronto Maple Leafs, however, he has lost a good two to three seasons of his career.

For the last two seasons, he has been stuck in the scariest place known to man. The place is commonly known as healthy scratch limbo. This is where a player who is clearly too talented for the AHL, but their team has too much depth to let them in, often stays. Welcome to the purgatory Leivo has dealt with.

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When he actually gets a chance to play in the NHL, it’s usually because someone got injured. Unfortunately for Leivo, the Leafs don’t get injured enough, or for long enough (unless you’re Joffrey Lupul).

However, as expected, star left winger James van Riemsdyk had to move along this offseason. This really had to be done, considering the future salary situation with Matthews and Marner. At that point in time, it looked a lot like Leivo will have a chance at that long-awaited roster spot.

The signing of Tyler Ennis, however, makes things complicated. Once again, Leivo will find himself behind the eight-ball.

A look at the situation

As always, he is not going to have this easy. Ennis obviously isn’t the 40 point player he once was, but he is still a serviceable 25 point-scoring NHL player. And despite his scoring woes with the Minnesota Wild, he was still an above average possession player.

Ennis recorded 22 points in 73 games this season. Only three seasons ago, Ennis had 46 points. This doesn’t mean anything anymore, but coaches seem to like it.  With Leivo, it’s a lot harder to tell.

This is because Leivo’s NHL sample size is quite small. Last year, he only scored 4 points in 16 games. This would put him on pace for 21 points. The season before however, Leivo had 10 points in 13 games. That would have put him on pace for 63 points. Of course, this would probably never happen, but who knows?

Anyways, the point is that Leivo’s point totals have been quite variable. It is very hard to know what kind of player he really is. Advanced stat wise, Leivo does have a slight edge. Looking at Corsi for percentage, however, his 48.6 percent CF percentage is higher than Ennis’s 46.8.

With only 57 NHL games under his belt, however, Leivo will have to prove himself in training camp to claim that fourth line position. This is, mind you, assuming Mike Babcock keeps Andreas Johnsson on the third line, which he should.

Next: Maple Leafs Offseason Outlook

Sadly, with the Ennis signing, things aren’t looking great for Leivo. Coaches tend to over-emphasize experience, and that’s what Ennis brings to the table. The two are very similar in terms of skill, but I have to think that Ennis will win out in the end.

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