Matt Hunwick

Toronto Maple Leafs Player Preview: Matt Hunwick

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Toronto Maple Leafs logjam on defence could cause several players to be on a rotational schedule in and out of the lineup.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a less than ideal defensive group, in talent and for developmental purposes.

Matt Hunwick is one off two (Roman Polak) misplaced defenders that will unjustly receive ice-time at the expense of a better, younger defender.

Hunwick competes, and he’s much better when he’s sheltered, but what he brought in 2015-2016 came nothing close to what expectations were with regards to actual play.

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With the direction of where the Toronto Maple Leafs are going, using Hunwick as a rotational defender would be the best course of action – for player and for team.

The best case scenario for Hunwick and the Leafs is that he plays in a sheltered role where he can maximize his talents in hopes of being a deadline deal to a contending team for a playoff run.

He was extremely effective in his role in New York prior to joining the Leafs, so there’s a history of more steady play than he displayed last season. That’s what the Toronto Maple Leafs need to extract from Matt Hunwick in 2016-2017.

A good team deals in solid play. Having a veteran presence on the ice is only valuable if the veteran doesn’t hinder success of the team.

If Mike Babcock can find a way to dig up 2014-2015 Matt Hunwick then the Toronto Maple Leafs will not only be a better team for it next year, they’ll be a better team for the future when they flip him at the deadline.

This is a contract year for Hunwick, so he’s going to be motivated to prove last year was a blip on the radar and that he’s an effective player capable of more than the third pairing. The Leafs need to expect better play from him.

Hunwick wore a letter last year as a leadership figure for a developing team. He’s going to be in that role again this season, whether he has a letter again or not, so there’s a personal growth factor that he’s going to attribute to for the youth that make this team.

Regardless of his leadership abilities, if he doesn’t find his way early in 2016-2017 he could (and should) find himself scratched more often than not in exchange for a promising young defender like Connor Carrick or Frank Corrado.

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