{"id":18064,"date":"2017-10-29T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2017-10-29T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=18064"},"modified":"2017-10-29T01:16:55","modified_gmt":"2017-10-29T05:16:55","slug":"the-departed-checking-in-2015-16-toronto-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/10\/29\/the-departed-checking-in-2015-16-toronto-maple-leafs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Departed: Checking in with the 2015-16 Toronto Maple Leafs"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a short amount of time, Brendan Shanahan and co. have turned the Toronto Maple Leafs organization around. The Departed is a series taking a look back at players in recent seasons who have since moved on from the Leafs. In the first\u00a0installment, we go back to the summer of 2016 to check in with the 2015-16 Toronto Maple Leafs, and the free agents who left the club after their last-place finish.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Departed: Checking in with the Toronto Maple Leafs from the 2015-16 Season<\/h1>\n

The Departed<\/em> begins on July 1, 2016, with the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> free agency class of 2016. After an intentionally bad season in which Toronto finished last and won the draft lottery, Brendan Shanahan and co. were looking to make minor moves in the 2016 off-season. Toronto was not looking to rush things, not wanting force success with major free agent acquisitions.<\/p>\n

In fact, the Leafs only re-signed restricted free agents, as not a single unrestricted free agent was brought back (though Ben Smith<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0was claimed off of waivers early in the 2016-17 season). Let’s take a look at the players who left the Leafs organization in free agency back in the summer of 2016.<\/p>\n

Michael Grabner<\/h3>\n

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Michael Grabner<\/a><\/strong> on the first day of training camp at the beginning of the 2015-16 season in a trade that saw five middling prospects head back to the New York Islanders<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As the Leafs finished last, lines were rarely fixed into place,\u00a0quite unlike the set-in-stone lineup in Toronto in 2016-17. Grabner spent time with Nick Spaling<\/a><\/strong> on the third line and, later in the year, Nazem Kadri<\/a><\/strong>, on the top line. Although he was placed in a position to score, Grabner failed to find the scoresheet regularly. He scored just nine goals and 18 points in 80 games, though fans will remember missed breakaway after missed breakaway from the speedy Austrian.<\/p>\n