Hyman getting knee healthy during pause for Maple Leafs

Zach Hyman said the pause to the NHL season has allowed the Toronto Maple Leafs forward to get completely healthy.

Despite recovering from a knee injury sustained in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, Hyman tied his NHL career high of 21 goals in 51 games, 20 fewer games than he needed to score that many in 2018-19.

"I'm still managing it … I wore a brace all season and am pretty cognizant of the fact that I'm still rehabbing it," Hyman said Thursday. "I came back pretty early.

"This off time has been beneficial for my whole body to heal up and just getting the knee back to normal. During the season I tried to manage it day to day and it got better as the season went on, but we have work to do with it."

Hyman injured his right knee during the Eastern Conference First Round against the Boston Bruins and had surgery April 29. He made his 2019-20 debut Nov. 13, and the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

Hyman could become an unrestricted free agent after next season and said he wants to keep playing in his hometown.

"I would love to stay in Toronto," the 27-year-old said. "It's where I grew up, it's where I want to be.

"In a way, with everything that has happened (with the NHL paused), I'm lucky that I have another year on my contract because everything will probably be sorted out in regard to the [NHL salary cap] and all those questions that nobody really has answers for right now.

"I would love to be a long-term Leaf and love to re-sign here and ultimately win a Stanley Cup here."

Hyman, who is the author of three children books ("The Magician's Helper," "Hockey Hero" and "The Bambino and Me"), said he is using the pause to write a fourth.

"I have no excuse now," he said. "I have all the time in the world."

When he's not writing, Hyman is using his gaming talents to help raise money. He and Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex Nylander were part of an all-athlete charity tournament featuring "Fortnite" on Thursday. The president of Eleven Holdings Corp., which specializes in egames and esports. Hyman was playing for Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, a cause he's long supported.

"Kids these days don't really watch that much TV, they go on their laptop, and they're watching stuff on YouTube, they're watching Netflix and video games," he said. "That's something hard for some people to get their heads around sometimes.

"But people are watching. It's a way for us to have fun and help out too."