Roni Hirvonen has signed a new contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Exciting signing for the Leafs!

I voted no.

Only because of the timing of it.

It's pretty obvious this was done to take the focus off of the Leafs allowing Game 6 to slip away and being forced to play a Game 7.



Other than that, it's a good signing

Want to win? Sign a Finn.

Good not great middle six fwd in a couple years.

Don't like this signing, another 5'9" 160 pound small skilled winger added to this team

Good pick. He's a strong leader

What a bad take

One of the best trade downs Dubas has made

Yeah it definitely was.

To Ottawa:

Pick 44 = Tyler Kleven (D) = 0.26 points per game (NCAA)

To Toronto:

Pick 59 = Roni Hirvonen (C) = 0.63 points per game (LIGA)
Pick 64 = Topi Niemelas (D) = 0.68 points per game (LIGA) + WJC Best Defender Award + LIGA U20 Points Record

In fairness to Kleven he is an Ottawa type player to a tee being a big strong brusing defensemen but he was never supposed to put up a ton of points and Neimela and Hirvonen are smaller and are supposed to score a lot.

I think that to truely see how much this impacts both teams will have to wait but I think that it is going to help both teams.

That's partially true for Hirvonen, but Niemela was drafted as a high-level defender who was never expected to put up points.

In his draft year, scouts saw him as a slightly undersized but smart positional defender with great stick work and breakout passes.

His stylistic comparables were guys like TJ Brodie. He's also 6'0 and 180 lbs today but CapFriendly hasn't updated his info since 2019.


NIEMELA PRE-DRAFT SCOUTING:


Jokke Nevalainen 2019
"Niemela surprised a lot of people by making Karpat’s Liiga team but he forced the issue. His biggest strength is his defensive smarts. His hands
and shot are good but not elite, and he won’t be a point-producer. He's currently a projected 2nd rounder in the 2020 NHL Draft, but like last
year with Tobias Bjornfot at 22nd overall, he can be drafted much higher as a projected minute muncher who should be NHL ready very soon."

Hayden Soboleski 2019
"Niemela has spent his time on the Liiga's Karpat squad so far in 2019-20, and has continued to show off his defensive smarts on the blueline.
He will never be a scoring dynamo or overly notable in fantasy formats, but he continues to show good transitions that leads to team offense."

Elite Prospects 2020
"Niemela takes phenomenal care of the puck and is willing to use the center of the ice. He displays high levels of competence with the puck on
his stick. He smartly scans the ice with shoulder checks before collecting the puck, then smartly and decisively moves play in the other direction."

Dobber Prospects 2020
"The Maple Leafs have selected Niemela in the 3rd round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. This is an excellent value pick considering most pre-draft
scouting rankings had him listed as an early 2nd. Currently in his second season playing against men, he isn’t a big point producer but his strong
transition play and skating skill makes him a safe pick by draft standards. He projects as a defensively responsible 2nd or 3rd pair defensemen."


Niemela's offensive skillset kind of came out of nowhere in his D+1 and D+2 seasons.
Hirvonen was also seen as an undersized defense oriented forward in his draft year.


HIRVONEN PRE-DRAFT SCOUTING:


Elite Prospects 2020
"Hirvonen is dutiful in the defensive zone, maintaining an elevated work rate and putting on a clinic in body leverage going into puck
retrievals. He does a fantastic job of anticipating plays, closing passing & shooting lanes, and making defensive switches on the cycle."

hmm...how does this signing get the Leafs passed the 1st Rd ?

It doesn't