NHL Rumors: 2 Teams to Target Zach Aston-Reese This Offseason

 

It has come to that time of year when we look more in-depth at a player's potential offseason destination. Zach Aston-Reese found a home with the Toronto Maple Leafs this past season after signing a PTO at the start of training camp. Now, it is the second round of the postseason and he finds himself on the outside looking in. This is a clear indication that he may be used more by the Maple Leafs during the regular season next year if he chose to resign, however, that most likely won't be the case. So, let's take a look at a few teams that could be interested in Aston-Reese. 

Pittsburgh Penguins

A familiar face may return to where it all began. Aston-Reese started his NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he could be on their radar to bring him back this offseason. The Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time in 16 years, and now the front office is making changes. Those changes are necessary because part of the season they failed to miss the postseason is their depth. Adding Aston-Reese as a depth piece can make their team a lot stronger. Mind you, it doesn't mean that he will save the day, but adding a defensively sound player as well as a hard forechecker is a good addition to a team hoping to make the playoffs. 

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche are a team that is still a Stanley Cup Contender but ran into some injury issues that they couldn't overcome this season. Now with their captain Gabriel Landeskog out for the entire 2023-34 season, the Avalanche will have a ton of cap space to use. The question is, where will they use it? Many will think that they should go use it on the best possible free agent, but in my opinion, they should allocate it all over the lineup. For example, if they went after a guy like Aston-Reese among a few others, they could have enough bodies to help when if they run into injury issues again next season. He can score 10-12 goals per season and playing alongside Andrew Cogliano would be a great help to the bottom-six for Colorado.

Photo Credits: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports