On October 10, before the season started, the Toronto Maple Leafs waived Bobby McMann. He was too low on the depth chart to make the team out of camp, beat out by Noah Gregor and Fraser Minten (it’s so weird he played in NHL games this year). Thankfully, McMann went unclaimed, because he has somehow found himself a key part of Toronto’s forward group just months later.
On a team with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares, McMann is second on the Leafs in goals scored per 60 minutes at 5v5, according to MoneyPuck. He’s fifth in assists per 60 minutes. He leads the team, a team with Auston Matthews, in shots on goal per 60 at 5v5.
The guy who went unclaimed on waivers six months ago is now a part of the Leafs’ second line, playing with Tavares and Nylander. He was recently rewarded with a two-year extension worth $2.7M.
How Bobby McMann got here
How is this even possible? What happened?
Years of hard work is reason number one, there’s no doubt about that.
McMann played four years in the AJHL, four years of Division One college hockey, had two stints in the ECHL, and played four seasons in the AHL. He went undrafted, having to prove himself at every level.
Growing up in Wainwright, Alta., home to fewer than 7,000 people, it’s not hard to see where McMann got his work ethic.
He’s always had a good scoring touch. In the AJHL, he scored more goals than assists and finished his last season with 36 goals in 47 games. In his first full AHL season, he scored 24 goals in 61 contests, and last year he scored 21 in just 30 games.
But to earn playing time, you have to do more than just have a good shot (he does have one, though). McMann is a ruthless forechecker, one of the best on the Leafs, and throws over two hits a game. He even fought Ilya Lyubushkin when Lyubushkin was still an Anaheim Duck.
He uses his size about as well as anyone on the team, and he’s a bit of a pest. But the Leafs have needed some snot, as Brad Treliving likes to put it, for a while now.
The odds have always been stacked against McMann, but he’s clearly not a quitter. He’s had to work his tail off at every level, and all he’s done is prove himself over and over.
What McMann brings the Leafs
Although it’s gotten better recently, one of Toronto’s most glaring issues this year has been the lack of secondary scoring. Treliving tried to bring in a second wave of producers in the offseason with Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and John Klingberg, but the core four have had to score more than ever to keep the team afloat.
So when a wild Bobby McMann appears and scores you 13 goals in 46 games while only playing 11 minutes a night, he’s going to move up the lineup quickly.
It felt like, at some point in February, McMann just realized he’s a really good hockey player. Instead of chipping pucks into corners, he’s started blowing by defencemen at their bluelines. Instead of looking to pass to one of his linemates, he’s started peppering the net with shots.
Like I said before, McMann is in the top five in just about every offensive category for the Leafs on a per 60-minute basis.
He’s one of five Leafs producing over one expected goal per 60 minutes according to MoneyPuck, he’s scored almost four more goals than expected and is also fifth on the whole team in points per 60.
So that’s easily the number one thing he brings to the Leafs—much-needed secondary scoring.
But he’s also drawn more penalties than he’s taken, has twice as many takeaways as giveaways, and is eighth on the team in defensive zone shift starts, all according to MoneyPuck. Keefe trusts him to play responsible defence, which has also allowed him to play on the penalty kill.
He really does it all, which is crazy to say about a guy who didn’t make the team out of camp. He might be in the top-six when the playoffs start!
Can McMann keep it up?
It sounds absurd to say, but it feels like his play is sustainable.
Now, he probably won’t score 35+ goals like his recent pace would suggest, but he’s got the shot and offensive instincts to score 20 in the NHL. His defensive game is good, he absolutely pelts goalies with shots, and he’s proven he can play with anyone.
And it seems like he’s improving constantly, finding his groove in the big leagues and testing his own limits every game. You can tell he is always working on himself and isn’t satisfied with being an end-of-roster guy.
My hopes might be too high, who really knows. But from what I’ve seen recently, this guy is a very good NHL player, and Treliving and Keefe seem to agree.
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