Maple Leafs and Islanders fighting over the same free agent forward.

All the focus in Toronto today, April 1st 2019, is on the upcoming match up between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Islanders, a team that has arguably become Toronto's most bitter rival after less than 1 full season of hatred between these two organizations. The Leafs and the Islanders will play in a long awaited rematch on Monday and it is understandable that everyone invested in both these franchises is entirely focused on what will transpire on the ice this evening, but it appears that there is another battle raging behind the scenes.

According to a report from Mike McMahon of College Hockey News, there is a battle going on between the Islanders and the Maple Leafs when it comes to a particular college free agent that both teams appear to be interested in acquiring. According to McMahon both the Leafs and Islanders are interested in acquiring the services of 25 year old Ohio State University forward Mason Jobst. Jobst has spent the past 4 seasons of his career playing for the Buckeyes at Ohio State University and has been impressive in each of those season in spite of the fact that he was never drafted by an NHL team. 

In his most recent season Jobst appeared in 36 games for the Buckeyes and recorded 17 goals and 19 assists for a total of 36 points, a point per game pace. At his peak for the Buckeyes however Jobst was even more impressive recording 19 goals and 26 assists for a total of 55 points in a 39 game regular season. Given his level of production it is not particularly difficult to see why he may have caught the attention of some National Hockey League scouts, although it is rather amusing that these two teams are the ones with interest given the rivalry that has blossomed between the two franchises seemingly out of nowhere. 

There has been no indication from McMahon regarding which of these two teams may be the favorite to land McMahon and additionally there has been no indication regarding the type of deal he may sign. Given his advance age, at least for a free agent with no NHL experience, I don't see a world in which Jobst would be willing to lock himself into a long term entry level deal, but that may depend on how valuable each franchise believes he can be for them.