The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed David Booth to a 1 year contract worth $1.1 million.
Santorelli's 2 successful seasons were when he played on a team with David Booth. Booth adds board play+net drive that were sorely missing.
— Anthony Petrielli (@APetrielli) July 22, 2014
[quote_box_center]SCOUTING REPORT
Assets: Has speed to burn. Can put up points in bunches and is ultra aggressive on the forecheck. Also boasts a nose for the net. Can play on either side of center, which adds to his overall value.
Flaws:Concussions are still a concern with him, especially since he has a bad habit of keeping his head down in dangerous areas of the ice. Isn’t a natural setup man. Lacks game-to-game consistency.
Career Potential:Speedy, streaky scoring winger.
– The Forecaster[/quote_box_center]
Leafs fans might remember David Booth from when the Leafs coveted him way back when they traded Bryan McCabe to the Panthers. He has had injuries problems since then that have derailed his career, but he remains solid at forechecking, cycling, and driving the net. When he came back from his major concussion he did have a 23 goal season the following year, before getting traded to Vancouver where he had a 16 goal season. He might still have some scoring left in him. Although he is 6’0 even, he is thick, as he’s listed as over 210 pounds. Of interest to Leafs fans is that he’s had success playing with Mike Santorelli in both Florida and Vancouver.
The Maple Leafs have taken a flyer here on a player who has struggled with injuries and was deemed a poor fit in Vancouver last season, when he played just 13:48 a night on average and didn’t live up to the $4.25 million cap hit, which was bought out by the Canucks. This will create a tremendous amount of competition among the wingers in the top 9 when taken in combination with the Matt Frattin and Mike Santorelli additions.
The Leafs were considered to be the one of the fastest—if not the fastest—teams in the league the last few seasons and just got a little bit faster again. Booth is an ardent forechecker and strong board player, but has struggled to stay healthy while doing what makes him most successful — and given his rap sheet of injuries the past three years, that is likely the biggest question mark here, because there’s little doubt he has the talent to provide good value in terms of secondary production for the $1.1 million.
It’s hard to dislike the risk-reward ratio with adds like Santorelli, Frattin, Kontiola, and now David Booth. There’s been no serious commitment made to any of them, and they add depth and versatility to the forward group. With the new array of options, the Leafs will surely fill out the forward group better than last season and have created healthy competition among hungry players with something to prove. A number of these may not work out, but there’s at least the potential to surprise with little associated risk, and no pressure to put developing kids in positions above their heads.
Another look at #Leafs depth chart with the latest moves accounted for: pic.twitter.com/L6sHFWRxu6
— Raihan Hussain (@RaihanSays) July 22, 2014
David Booth Highlights
David Booth Statistics
| Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | plus/minus | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 - 01 | Compuware Ambassadors | NAHL | 42 | 17 | 13 | 30 | 44 | ||||||
| 2001 - 02 | USNTDP Under-18 Team | NAHL | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 | ||||||
| 2001 - 02 | U.S. Junior National Team | USHL | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| 2002 - 03 | Michigan State University | CCHA | 39 | 17 | 19 | 36 | 53 | 0 | |||||
| 2003 - 04 | Michigan State University | CCHA | 30 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 30 | 6 | |||||
| 2004 - 05 | Michigan State University | CCHA | 29 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 30 | ||||||
| 2005 - 06 | Michigan State University | CCHA | 36 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 50 | ||||||
| 2006 - 07 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 25 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 26 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2006 - 07 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 48 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2007 - 08 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 73 | 22 | 18 | 40 | 26 | 13 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2008 - 09 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 72 | 31 | 29 | 60 | 38 | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2009 - 10 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 28 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 23 | -3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2010 - 11 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 82 | 23 | 17 | 40 | 26 | -31 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2011 - 12 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2011 - 12 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 56 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 32 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012 - 13 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2013 - 14 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 66 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 18 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2013 - 14 | Utica Comets | AHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
