Maple Leafs Forward Likely to Become Odd Man Out With Craig Berube Due to Limited Ice Time

Given that the team needs an influx of scoring, there's lots of talk about the type of player Toronto is going to bring in. While their fourth line has been a sore spot offensively, they have been solid with David Kampf, Steven Lorentz, and surprisingly Ryan Reaves (though that may be Craig Berube's fault).

But there's one forward who has done a serviceable job for the team however has seen his numbers drop as Craig Berube keeps experimenting even as we head into the latter part of the season, and that's Connor Dewar.

Though he's more than capable offensively, Dewar has transitioned into a more defensively focused forward, however it's not what Craig Berube and Toronto needs.

Whether it's the lack of offense, or feeling he just doesn't gel with the rest of the team, Berube has reduced Dewar's minutes significantly.

From nearly 13 minutes last season under Sheldon Keefe (12:54), that number has tumbled to just over 10 minutes (10:07).

With his two and a half seasons with the Minnesota Wild, Dewar scored 19 goals and 24 assists in 173 games.

While those aren't eye-popping numbers, it's a considerable increase from his eight total points with Toronto in 46 games.

In Minnesota he was fantastic defensively and was able to be a great shutdown center on their bottom half, but his numbers have dropped across the board and he's only had three takeaways compared to 17 giveaways this year.

He did deal with an injury earlier this season and continues to deal with a nagging injury currently. This could be a big factor into why he hasn't been a factor, but his first injury return was in November after recovering from shoulder surgery and since then has not been who Toronto needs him to be.

Especially not at the current cost of $1.18M; and with Toronto able to employ a rookie contingent that includes Fraser Minten or Jacob Quillan as either a center or winger alongside Kampf and Lorentz; when people start coming back it's Dewar's spot to lose.

Dewar does offer Toronto a lot in terms of grit, heart, and energy and is still potentially able to get things going if he finds some type of offensive spark (much like Steven Lorentz has) but that remains to be seen.

If Toronto upgrades to someone like Brandon Tanev or Trent Frederic, then having Dewar as someone who can swap in for a rookie or for Reaves is a valuable asset for any team.

Connor Dewar's time with the Maple Leafs might not be coming to a complete end, but he's certainly lost a lot of time this season and if he doesn't pick it up, might not be playing at all for a few games.