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McLeod is pretty much the ideal fourth-line center for any NHL club, especially an ascending young group like New Jersey. He finished with a career-high 26 points in 80 games a season ago, which figures to be his offensive ceiling moving forward. What McLeod offers is the ability to log tough defensive minutes in addition to being one of the best faceoff men in the game. The Devils inked him to a new one-year, $1.4 million deal in July. McLeod will once again be a restricted free agent next summer, this time around with arbitration rights.
McLeod has been a disappointment since being selected No. 12 overall back in 2016, but he did finally establish himself as a full-time NHL player last season. The numbers (nine goals, 15 points, minus-12 rating, 60 shots, no power-play points in 52 games) were modest, but it's a significant improvement from a couple years ago. McLeod was drafted as an offensive center. He put up big numbers throughout his junior career, but he looks like more of a bottom-six guy at the NHL level. The Devils' lack of depth essentially ensures McLeod will open next season with a roster spot, but there's no real reason at this point to suspect another significant step forward, leaving McLeod with essentially no fantasy value until he proves otherwise.
McLeod has played in 33 games with the Devils over the past two seasons, and he's still in search of his first goal while having chipped in only five assists. Perhaps the game will start to slow down a bit for the 12th overall pick from the 2016 draft, but McLeod hasn't come close to justifying his early draft slot up to this point. He'll compete for a bottom-six role with New Jersey in 2021 and will likely end up earning scant minutes while spending significant time in the press box barring significant improvement.
McLeod got a chance to strut his stuff at the NHL level in 2018-19, but he didn't make the most of it with just three assists and no goals in 21 games. The 12th overall selection in the 2016 draft hasn't exactly been an offensive dynamo at the AHL level, either, with only six goals and 34 points in 61 games. It's apparent McLeod will never be a big goal-scorer, but it's too early to completely write him off as a bust. He'll try to crack the Devils' roster in camp.
Selected 12th overall in the 2016 draft, McLeod finally turned pro last season after playing at better than a point-per-game pace in each of his final three seasons with the OHL's Mississauga Steelheads. He tried to make the Devils roster out of camp last year, but that bid was derailed by a torn meniscus. While the 20-year-old forward will almost certainly need more seasoning after posting just one assist and a minus-6 rating in six games with AHL Binghamton, we could see McLeod in the NHL as soon as this year if he develops quickly. Dynasty owners should file the 6-foot-2 center's name away for future reference.