The Toronto Maple Leafs signed old rival Jason Spezza, they brought in a Russian ringer in Ilya Mikheyev, as well as scooping up every half-way-decent player available who was looking to earn a spot at the bottom of an NHL lineup.
The interesting thing about the Leafs acquisitions – besides just how many there were – is that they have targeted a specific kind of player. That is highly skilled players who are not going to get top-six NHL minutes, and as such don’t have a traditional role to play in an NHL lineup.
Things are changing, but there is still a tendency for teams throughout the league to fill out their lineup with high-energy checkers who will “grind” and “play the game the right way.