While the Toronto Maple Leafs are the team we choose to root for, it doesn’t take long for fans like myself to make connections with the players who come to play on the Blue & White. However, given the way professional sports work these days, often these players move on to other teams. Still, for me, that doesn’t mean that I don’t follow them to see how they are doing wherever they land.
That’s the case for the two players I’m checking in on in this post. The regular season is about 10 games in for most teams. I wanted to check in on two of the players I’m following. In this post, I’ll look at recent departee Sam Lafferty, who was traded to the Vancouver Canucks just before the regular season began, and one of my favorite Maple Leafs players from three seasons ago – Ilya Mikheyev. How are both of them doing this season?
Related: Canucks’ Ilya Mikheyev: A Bounceback Season Ahead
It was hard not to like Mikheyev because he was so straightforward and funny. Sadly, he just played himself out of the Maple Leafs’ willingness to pay and signed with the Canucks two offseasons ago. For those of you who have followed his plight, he’s been injured so much for Vancouver that he hasn’t played much of a full season yet, but that seems to have changed this season. He seems to have recovered from his injuries and has started to play regularly with his Canucks team.
Looking at These Two Former Maple Leafs Players
Player One: How Is Sam Lafferty Doing with the Vancouver Canucks?
In the first week of October, Sam Lafferty was traded to the Vancouver Canucks from the Maple Leafs in exchange for a fifth-round pick. He was moved as a way not to lose him during waivers. For Lafferty, however, it meant an opportunity to prove himself in a bottom-six role with the Canucks. Last season, he scored well enough, with 12 goals and 15 assists (for 27 points) in 70 games, mostly done with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Latest THW Headlines
This season, in his first game with the Canucks (Oct. 11, 2023), Lafferty registered an assist on Dakota Joshua’s third-period goal. He also had four hits in an 8-1 beatdown of the Edmonton Oilers. But despite his bottom-six role, given the score, Lafferty saw a considerable amount of ice time (18:00) during the game.
Related: A Canucks Reunion with Chris Tanev Makes Sense
In the return match against the Oilers on Oct. 14, Lafferty scored the game-winning goal in a 4-3 victory, with the goal coming later in the third period. Again, Lafferty played a physical game by registering six hits and carried a plus-2 rating skating in a bottom-six role.
On Oct. 31, Lafferty ended a six-game point drought by scoring his team’s first goal in a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators. That the goal was a redirection of a Quinn Hughes shot to put the Canucks ahead 1-0 and suggests that Lafferty is fearless by taking up space in front of an opponent’s net. While he isn’t a huge-numbers kind of player, he’s proving to be a consistent contributor as a 200-foot player for his new team.
Finally, in his team’s 10-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 2, Lafferty had a standout performance, scoring a goal and adding an assist (plus, he put up a plus-3 rating). It was his first multiple-point game of the season. Thus far, Lafferty’s time with the Canucks has shown his consistent ability to contribute to the team’s success. In his 10 games with his new team, he has scored three goals and added two assists (for five points), as well as put up a plus-6 rating.
Player Two: Ilya Mikheyev Finally Returned from His Injury
For those Maple Leafs fans who haven’t followed Mikheyev, he had been out of the Canucks lineup for quite some time after suffering a knee injury that required ACL surgery last January. While he didn’t start the regular season on time, he was able to return against the Predators on Oct. 24.
Related: Today in Hockey History: Nov. 3
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet put Mikheyev immediately on Vancouver’s top line alongside Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko, and his return did not disappoint. He made a strong comeback by scoring his first goal of the season in a 3-2 win against the Predators while also logging over 15 minutes of ice time.
In his next game, on Oct. 27 against the St. Louis Blues, Mikheyev scored his second goal of the season. He had now put up two goals and added an assist in three games. Playing on the top line with Pettersson had to help, but it didn’t look like Mikheyev missed a beat in his strong start to the season after his injury. He was as fast as ever.
On Oct. 31, Mikheyev registered an assist in a 5-2 win over the Predators on Pettersson’s game-tying goal. With two goals and two assists in five games, Mikheyev was a solid contributor in his top-six role. He has played more than 15 minutes of ice time each game.
Related: A Brief History of NHL Uniforms
Finally, in the Nov. 2 win over the Sharks, Mikheyev scored his third goal of the season in the second period. On the season to date, he has scored three goals and added two assists (for five points) in six games while also posting a plus-5 rating. He has looked right at home in his top-line role with the Canucks and looks ready to pass his career-high of 32 points if he can stay healthy.
Watching Ex-Maple Leafs Players Brings Back Fond Memories
As noted, while I don’t know about other fans, I seem to take a shine to certain players with the team. With Lafferty, it was because I suspected he was a better player than he had shown when he was with the team. With Mikheyev, it was because I liked how he overcame a debilitating injury and worked himself into a scoring role.
Both players are exceedingly fast on the ice, and that’s an attraction as well. Now that these players have moved to the Canucks, I choose to follow them and wish them well with their new team.
