Devin Setoguchi has agreed to a professional tryout with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 28-year-old most recently skated with the Calgary Flames and how heads to training camp with the Leafs in the hopes of resurrecting his career.
At 28, Setoguchi’s career is at a crossroads and the Leafs hope to cash in with a low-risk, high-reward tryout. Setoguchi’s 12-game stint with the Flames last year was a disaster (zero points, -7 plus/minus), but there’s still some hope that he might be able to find the form which resulted in a few successful seasons with the San Jose Sharks.
Here’s a troubling comparison which illustrates why Setoguchi was a man without even a tryout offer until the end of August.
Setoguchi’s first four NHL seasons:
267 games
84 goals
159 points
0.59 point-per-game pace
Setoguchi’s last four NHL seasons:
204 games
43 goals
90 points
0.44 point-per-game pace
As the stats above show, Setoguchi’s production has slipped considerably ever since he left San Jose back in 2010-11. The numbers aren’t bad by any means, but he hasn’t been able to lock down a regular job. The source of Setoguchi’s struggles haven’t been firmly identified and it has led to him skating on three different teams in three years. The Maple Leafs would be the fourth should he crack the NHL roster.
This move is a brilliant one by the Maple Leafs. Despite Setoguchi’s struggles (and he certainly has struggled), why not sign him to a tryout and see if you can recapture the form which was highly productive? There’s almost nothing to lose even though there might be some long odds.
(H/T Sportsnet)
