Report: Maple Leafs grant Hyman permission to speak to other teams

It appears Zach Hyman's time in Toronto is coming to an end.

The Maple Leafs have granted the pending unrestricted free-agent forward permission to speak to other teams so the club can explore trading his rights, sources told TSN's Darren Dreger.

Hyman, 29, is coming off the best two-year stretch of his career after tallying 36 goals and 70 points over his last 94 games. He's also proven to be an effective play-driver and a responsible two-way forward over the last three seasons.

Toronto has less than $10 million in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly, and may not be able to pay Hyman his market value while addressing other needs.

Evolving-Hockey is projecting Hyman will sign a four-year deal with a $5.325-million annual cap hit this offseason.

Hyman has spent the majority of his Maple Leafs tenure playing alongside elite talent. The workhorse winger has played almost exclusively on the club's top line with some combination of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner.

Hyman was originally a fifth-round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2010. The Maple Leafs traded for him in 2015 in exchange for Greg McKegg. The native of Toronto has played 345 games across six seasons with his hometown club.