The Maple Leafs are officially poking around Big Ten Player of the Year TJ Hughes as a top college free agent
Photo credit: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
First it was Vincent Borgesi. Then it was Brandon Buhr. Now, the Maple Leafs have chance to add not only a Hobey Baker Finalist, but someone who could help transform their lineup at both ends of the ice? T.J. Hughes.
There has been some great signings for the Toronto Maple Leafs lately, as they signed Vincent Borgesi and Brandon Buhr from the NCAA. Borgesi is expected to be of help offensively and could be a serious upgrade over Morgan Rielly and Buhr is basically Bobby McMann-lite.
But three's company and Toronto needs some more new faces, which is why it's not too surprising to hear they are still pursuing names, but it's who they're looking at now which is drawing attention.
The T.J. Hughes Bidding War: Why the Maple Leafs are tracking Big-Ten's Player of the Year
According to David Pagnotta on 'The Sheet', the Maple Leafs are heavily interested in Michigan forward T.J. Hughes, and with how often they poke around; they could be a serious contender for him:
There are multiple teams...that would love to get their hands on TJ Hughes; Toronto's always been...looking around the college ranks...one of the teams I've heard kind of poking around at some of the college free agents - Pagnotta, The Sheet (03.20.26)
He's a local kid, hailing from Hamilton, Ontario and while he's not on the level of a Gavin McKenna or James Hagens, there's still a lot to love.
A tireless worker, Hughes is someone who plays a solid two-way game, is physical, aggressive, can play everywhere you need him to, and his vision is out of this world. It's like time stops for Hughes and he's able to find the open man regardless of situation.
Add on top of that a sneakily underrated shot, and though he's not the fastest or strongest skater, he has a long-running motor and is willing to get dirty when he needs to be.
Why Toronto's college rolodex keeps on growing
Toronto's had a lot of success and you can see with the amount of college free agents they've signed, they like their NCAA prospects:
- John Prokop
- Luke Haymes
- Brandon Buhr
- Vincent Borgesi
- Ryan Kirwan
- Jacob Quillan
- Luke Haymes
- Brandon Buhr
- Vincent Borgesi
- Ryan Kirwan
- Jacob Quillan
Not to mention the success from guys like Bobby McMann; who came from small-town school and turned into 20-goal scorer; you can see why Hughes is on their mind.
With Auston Matthews wanting to see changes, adding a Hobey Baker finalist and someone who can come in and solidify the top-six; perhaps even replace John Tavares as the 2C, it could lead to good things for the future.
Hughes, 24, has 175 points in 163 games (67 goals, 108 assists) and a plus-30 in four years with the University of Michigan but in his last season of the AJHL he put up a staggering 127 points in 60 games (66 goals, 61 assists) so it's clear the offence is there.
But as you can see, adding these types of NCAA players is a great way to add without giving up assets and for a cap strapped Maple Leafs team they need all the help they can get.
Toronto has the perfect chance to bring in not only someone who can be part of their future plans but one who can come in now and make an impact.
The only question is whether or not Brad Treliving feels comfortable enough with what he's got, or if he should go for broke knowing his job is on the line.
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The high price the Maple Leafs must pay to keep Auston Matthews in Toronto
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Previously on Hockey Patrol
| POLL | ||
MARS 26|1318 ANSWERS The Maple Leafs are officially poking around Big Ten Player of the Year TJ Hughes as a top college free agent Do you think the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to sign TJ Hughes? | ||
| Yes | 606 | 46 % |
| No | 712 | 54 % |
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