The Toronto Maple Leafs could find answers to their slump in Europe. As the franchise looks for a younger, faster and hungrier roster, two former prospects who returned to Europe after their ELCs — Topi Niemela and Roni Hirvonen — are putting on performances that invite a reconsideration of their fits in Toronto. Their rights are still held by the Maple Leafs thanks to qualifying offers, and both signed one-year contracts in Sweden and Finland. If the goal is to inject energy and puck movement into the bottom of the roster, Europe has two candidates. Niemela, 23, plays for the Malmo Redhawks in the SHL. He is not replicating the offensive numbers that put him on the radar in 2021-22 or those from his AHL debut in 2023-24, but his positional play, zone reading and clean first pass are now his calling cards. On the larger ice surface, his size is no longer an issue and his two-way responsibility profiles him as a third-pair option with the ability to move the puck without mistakes, a far cry from the label of
