Nic Petan was drafted by the Jets in 2013 in the second round. He’s about to turn 24, and is a left-shooting winger with some history as a centre. He’s listed at 5’9” and 179 pounds on Elite Prospects.

In only 13 games for the Jets this year (with no AHL time) he has two assists in 13 games.

He’s under contract for this season on a two-way deal with an AAV of $874,125. This contract expires this summer, and Petan will be an RFA with arbitration rights.

He played most of last season in the AHL for the Moose, where he scored 15 goals and 37 assists in 52 games. He is no longer waivers exempt, so he was the press box prisoner in Winnipeg this year.

Superficially, since he’s a left winger, this looks like a replacement Josh Leivo for less salary, except he hasn’t shown anything like the scoring ability of Leivo. He should sit behind Tyler Ennis on the depth chart, and possibly even Trevor Moore.

The Leafs seem to be running a very specific fourth line structure where they spend all their time in the offensive zone, but don’t create. Petan, at least, seems capable if they get stuck in the wrong part of town. If he works out, his salary expectations will be more in line with what the Leafs can actually afford next year.

Par Lindholm failed, in recent games, to knock Frederik Gauthier out of the centre spot on the fourth line for the Leafs. He had a way with faceoffs, some good penalty killing, and nothing else going on.