How productive will Tyler Toffoli be for the Montreal Canadiens in 2020-21? That’s an interesting question and one that was posed by Eric Engels and Kyle Bukauskas in a recent Over/Under edition of their video series. The two hosts set the marker at 19 goals and the results were varied as to whether or not the veteran forward could be a 20-goal guy with his new team in a shortened season.
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Engels believed that Toffoli should get slightly more than 19 goals, despite only breaking the 30-goal marker once in his career. Engels notes, “He had 24 in less than 82 games last year.” He adds, “Given the fact that he’s proven he can produce right away in a new environment like he did with the Canucks while coming over there at the trade deadline last year, and the fact that he’s going to be given the opportunity to play with some pretty darn good passers…”
Bukauskas wasn’t quite as generous. “Sorry to burst the bubble for Canadiens fans, but I’m going just under,” he said. Noting that Toffoli scored only 18 goals in the first 58 games of last season, Montreal’s offense is going to be very spread out. Arguing the Canadiens have three productive lines and a fourth that can chip in as well, he might not get the lion’s share of ice time.
So, What’s the Real Number?
It’s not as though Toffoli needs to score 19 goals to be considered a good value for the Canadiens. They scooped him up during free agency at a number much lower than most would have expected. That gives the player some wiggle room to get adjusted.
If Toffoli scores somewhere between 15-20 goals in a shortened season, the Canadiens and their fans will be more-than pleased with his production. There are a lot of moving parts to this coming season, including the Canadiens playing a lot more games out west and traveling a lot more frequently than they might normally do.
That may not make a huge difference for Toffoli, who is used to the Western Conference travel schedule, but it might play some role on his linemates.
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