LeBrun: Zach Hyman has checked every box for Oilers since joining last summer

EDMONTON — Zach Hyman’s three goals in the opening two games of the Battle of Alberta just scratch the surface of what he has meant to the Edmonton Oilers.

On and off the ice, the 29-year-old winger has checked off every single box the Oilers could have dreamed of last summer when they signed him in free agency.

If there’s such a thing as a near perfect fit, you’re looking at it.

“He’s versatile, he can play left wing, he can play right wing, he just checks box after box,” Oilers GM Ken Holland said Saturday.

“He’s a cycle player, obviously we have some high-end skill and we’re good on the rush but you want to spend time in the O-zone,” added Holland. “Part of that is how you score goals but part of that is how you play defence. You spend time in the other team’s zone. And Zach is heavy on the puck and he cycles the puck, he’s heavy on the puck down low. He’s been everything we could have hoped for.’’

Off the ice?

“He’s an incredible person,” said Holland. “He’s positive, he brings a positive attitude. He’s respectful of people and respectful of the game. He’s an incredible person on top of what he brings as a hockey player.’’

Hyman was appreciated in similar ways by the Toronto Maple Leafs, whose salary cap situation made it difficult to re-sign the Toronto native.

“I think the way that he plays combined with his general demeanour makes him an easy guy to root for,” former Leafs teammate Morgan Rielly said over the phone from Toronto on Saturday. “He’s a guy that always has a smile on his face, has a positive attitude, he’s a well-spoken young man who is respectful and carries himself with a maturity and he just goes out there and plays hard, plays to win. He’s really competitive and that really comes through. That’s what the people in Edmonton are experiencing now. He was no different when he was here.’’

It was Rielly the Vancouver native who signed for eight years to stay in Toronto. And it was Hyman the Toronto native who went West.

Go figure.

But life with the salary cap forces some tough decisions. Hyman leaving his hometown Leafs probably isn’t one he had envisioned a few years ago. But after last season ended, there was a sense of reality approaching given the Leafs’ tight cap situation.

Hyman said he remembers talking to his wife, Alannah, after last season ended, ahead of free agency.

“She was pretty aware of the situation, it was going to be pretty hard (to re-sign) in Toronto,” Hyman recalled on Saturday. “We were talking about teams that I could see myself fit with and I immediately said, ‘I just feel like Edmonton is going to be a really good fit if there’s interest there.’  She said, ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘There’s just so many parallels there from a hockey standpoint. It’s perfect.’

“I didn’t know anything about the guys yet,” added Hyman. “I didn’t know them at all. But just from the start, I said, ‘If Toronto doesn’t work out, this is where I think is going to be the best fit.’’’

Not that the Leafs didn’t try. There were contract offers made. But nothing that would ultimately make it work.

All the while, Rielly was keeping tabs with Hyman of course.

“Over the years I’ve tried to communicate with players who are experiencing a contract negotiation or leading up to a contract negotiation,” Rielly said. “I’ve tried to talk to those guys a little bit more about how they’re feeling about it and what’s playing into their mindset. And after they leave or maybe after they re-sign, asking them what the major factors were in why they made that decision.

“I think with Zach, I would talk to him over the course of the season, it was a COVID year, kind of a half season, the outlook on the cap was very uncertain, so it was a little hard for him to predict how that was going to unfold.’’

But as Rielly put it, Hyman’s excellent play allowed him to be in the driver’s seat.

“With a player like that and the way that he played that year, he earned the right to go check what was out there,” said the veteran Leafs blueliner. “He did what he felt was best and he put himself in a good position by playing well. And when that happens, you kind of get to determine your own fate more than others that maybe don’t quite play as well in that important season.’’

It’s with mixed feelings that Rielly is watching his old pal succeed these days in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Happy for the player, of course, but the hurt comes from the Leafs not joining the Oilers in the second round.

“To watch him play the way that he is now and the impact he’s had on that team in a positive way, it’s been cool to see,” said Rielly. “I mean, it always hurts when there’s other teams still playing and there’s teammates you’ve had in the past that are on those teams. A big part of you is happy for them because they’re closer to achieving that ultimate goal but at the same time, there is an element of jealousy that you can’t help but feel. So it’s a little bittersweet.

“But he’s doing his thing and he’s doing exactly what his former teammates knew he would.’’

Hyman has of course kept tabs on his old pals in Toronto, the Leafs losing out in the first round again.

“It’s tough,” Hyman said. “I’m just trying to focus on our group here and what we’re doing but obviously aware of what happened over there. I haven’t reached out to those guys yet, but I will. Will give them a couple more days or a week or so.

“They’re still good buddies of mine. I was pulling for them there,”  added Hyman. “But Tampa’s a good team, it was a hell of a series. But I think they got the support of the fan base, which is big.’’

What’s interesting, of course, is the many parallels between Toronto and Edmonton from Hyman’s perspective. He got to play with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in Toronto. And where there’s so much pressure to finally achieve playoff success.

Hyman arrived in Edmonton where superstar Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are also chasing playoff glory under immense pressure in this market.

It was another great opportunity for Hyman.

“I said to my wife last summer, ‘I’m used to playing with Auston and Mitch and now I would have the opportunity to play with Connor or Leon or Nuge (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins).

“I’m used to playing with really, really good players. I think it’s going to work really well.’’

The Oilers and Leafs each had their playoff demons to slay entering this season. Edmonton parked a lot of baggage by winning its first-round series. Toronto just fell short again.

But the similarity lies in the desire to make it happen.

“Another thing about this group, from a parallel standpoint, these guys were just as hungry as the group I was leaving in Toronto,’’ said Hyman.

“I joined a hungry group here that really wants to win.”

Hyman is appreciative that Leafs GM Kyle Dubas gave him permission to speak and meet with other teams ahead of last summer’s free-agent market opening.

That allowed Hyman to travel here to Edmonton to meet Holland and other management staff, to get a sense of their plan, plus just as important for Hyman and his wife to actually get a feel for the city itself.

“From a family standpoint, it was massive,” said Hyman. “It would have made the decision a lot harder otherwise. So it was nice of Kyle to do that.’’

Hyman was able to train with McDavid and Darnell Nurse and a few other Oilers last summer in the Toronto area, which made him feel at ease ahead of training camp.

“The group has been just so welcoming,’’ Hyman said of his transition to the Oilers.

“One of the biggest things going on your team is that you want to feel comfortable and if you have a welcoming group like that, it makes a world of difference. It starts with Connor and everybody else. It’s just an easy fit.’’

And fit right in is exactly what Hyman has done.

“He drives forecheck, he competes, his compete level is infectious, it rubs off on our team,” said Holland. “He’s heavy on the puck. He can kill penalties. He can get net-front presence on the power play. He touches our team and our game in so many ways.’’

“Effort personified’’ is how Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft began describing Hyman when asked about him Saturday.

“Will. Strength on pucks. Somebody who values hard plays and little details that go into team wins,” said Woodcroft. “Certainly, his personhood is one of consistent optimism and enthusiasm and I also think that rubs off on his teammates.

“He’s been a really good player for us who touches all areas of the game,” added the Oilers coach. “We’re going to need him continuing to do that because he’s been a really, really important piece of our team.’’

A few other clubs came out of the blue at the 11th hour to show serious interest last summer.

But once Hyman saw the fit in Edmonton, he was focused on making that happen.

“I know that he had a lot of options,’’  said Holland. “We feel very fortunate that he chose to come to Edmonton.’’

(Photo: Brett Holmes / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)