Leafs give professional tryout to intriguing Russian
With the opening of training camps approaching, free agents who have not yet found a buyer will try to sell themselves to the various Bettman Circuit teams by signing professional tryouts, commonly called "PTO".
Yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they have granted a professional tryout to Russian left winger Nikita Gusev.
Gusev, 29, arrived in the NHL at the start of the 2019 season. He was playing with the New Jersey Devils at the time. The Russian had done very well in the first campaign in North America with a collection of 44 points in 66 games. However, the last season was more difficult as he recorded only 10 points in 21 games with the Devils and the Panthers.
With the Leafs lack of depth on the left side, the chances of him making the team are really good. Currently, the left wingers in Toronto are Nick Ritchie, Alexander Kerfoot, Wayne Simmonds and Michael Bunting according to DailyFaceoff. If Gusev performs well, he could make the lineup and he could definitely play on one of the first two threes. Imagine a line with Marner, Matthews and Gusev. It could be dangerous!
