The Maple Leafs' pursuit of local star TJ Hughes ends as the Hamilton native chooses Colorado instead
Photo credit: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
TJ Hughes has found his new home as the Hamilton, Ontario native spurned the Toronto Maple Leafs and decided to sign with the Colorado Avalanche instead.
The sweepstakes for TJ Hughes has come to an end as the Colorado Avalanche emerged victorious in the battle for the top NCAA free agent.
His decision was brought about by Elliotte Friedman who decided to give everyone a huge bit of news ahead of an already highly anticipated night of hockey:
Hearing Hamilton's TJ Hughes, a Hobey Baker finalist who played at Michigan, will be signing with the Colorado Avalanche.
The pursuit of TJ Hughes and why the Maple Leafs fell short of landing the Hamilton native
Hughes, 24, had a fantastic year at Michigan with 57 points in 40 games (22 goals, 35 assists) and was a Hobey Baker finalist but unfortunately lost out to Max Plante; a Detroit Red Wings prospect.
The Maple Leafs were heavily linked to Hughes over the past few weeks, but seemed to have missed out on the biggest fish in the pond.
Though this is a big loss, the team has at least been proactive in signing other top free agents like Vincent Borgesi and Brandon Buhr.
Colorado is a team who frankly, doesn't need the extra help but it's pretty clear as to why Hughes would have picked the Avalanche. They are already Cup contenders and with him ready to step in now, they become even stronger.
It's not that Hughes wouldn't have been successful in Toronto but there's a genuine concern they won't be competitive for a little bit. For Hughes — an uber-competitive and successful player, he wants the chance to win right away.
Why the miss on TJ Hughes won't derail the plan for a deeper Maple Leafs bottom six
It is a bit of a bummer that Toronto can't keep loading up their prospect pool with the top free agents from college hockey, however you have to credit them for at least bringing in some pretty good names recently.
Jacob Quillan, Luke Haymes, Ryan Kirwan, John Prokop, Vincent Borgesi, Brandon Burh, Hayes Hundley, and Frank Djurasevic are all players who were signed out of the NCAA pipeline between this year and last, and Toronto is clearly trying to restock their prospect pool through the college route and not the draft.
There's already a ton of great guys who can come in and play in the bottom-six, not to mention the Toronto Marlies just added Miroslav Holinka to the fray and he should be ready soon too.
None of these names stand out like Hughes, however they are all at least bottom-six or bottom-pairing NHL talent, and if Toronto can go internally to rebuild the bottom-half of the lineup, it saves them money and allows them to improve the back end or top-six.
Hughes' talent is undeniable but there's always a chance it doesn't translate to the NHL level. The Maple Leafs lost out on a potential star talent for sure, but from the looks of who they have in the tank; it might not matter.
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Miroslav Holinka is joining the Leafs organization and his goal a game playoff run tells you everything
Miroslav Holinka is joining the Leafs organization and his goal a game playoff run tells you everything
Previously on Hockey Patrol
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 11|700 ANSWERS The Maple Leafs' pursuit of local star TJ Hughes ends as the Hamilton native chooses Colorado instead Will TJ Hughes become an NHL star with the Colorado Avalanche? | ||
| Yes | 365 | 52.1 % |
| No | 335 | 47.9 % |
| List of polls | ||