Recently signed Leaf impresses Sheldon Keefe in his preseason debut

This offseason, Kyle Dubas and the Leafs re-signed a former Leaf in Denis Malgin. Today, in the preseason opener, Malgin impressed head coach Sheldon Keefe. Keefe said Malgin was excellent today, and that every time he touched the puck, something positive happened. Malgin was playing on the same line as William Nylander today.

Malgin was originally drafted by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round (102nd overall) of the 2015 NHL entry draft. After playing parts of four seasons for the Panthers, Malgin was traded to the Leafs in exchange for power forward Mason Marchment on February 19th of 2020. Marchment went on to establish himself as a top six forward in Florida, before signing a four year $18 million contract with the Dallas Stars this offseason. Meanwhile, Malgin played eight games with the Leafs after the trade, recording zero points.

For the last two seasons, Malgin has been playing in the Swiss elite league. Last year, playing for Zurich, he recorded 52 points (21 goals & 31 assists) in 48 regular season games. He added 18 points (9 goals & 9 assists) in 17 playoff games.


Given Malgin is on a one year, league minimum $750,000 contract, any added productivity from the 25-year-old Swiss would be a huge bonus. And if he can continue to develop chemistry with William Nylander, even better.