Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports The Leafs have been fairly welcoming over the years when it comes to roster spots for their European free agent signings.
Nikita Zaitsev joined the squad as Morgan Rielly’s defence partner for the first run of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in the NHL that led to a playoff round against the Washington Capitals. Andreas Borgman and Calle Rosen signed with the Leafs that May, where the former saw more playing time with 48 games the following season. Next came centre Par Lindholm and defenceman Igor Ozhiganov who got ample opportunities from then head coach Mike Babcock to make an impact. Illya Mikheyev joined up for the 2019/20 season and is a solid factor in…
