Pontus Aberg signed a league minimum contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the summer of 2019. After an uninspiring training camp, he was sent to the Toronto Marlies, pegged as one of the many lottery tickets the Leafs bought that just didn’t work out. After bouncing between five organizations in just over two years, it wouldn’t have been difficult to see the NHL dream come to an end, replaced with an easier life in Europe.
But that’s not what Aberg did. He made his way to the AHL, worked his tail off, and swiftly put up the best numbers of his career since his time with the Milwaukee Admirals in 2016-17 — the season he got called up to the Nashville Predators at the end of the year and had an explosive debut in the spotlight as his team made the Stanley Cup Finals.