The Maple Leafs have displayed interest in centers Mikael Granlund and Pius Suter to bolster their depth at the position after free agency opens next week, according to Kristen Shilton of ESPN.
They’re expected to pursue them for a bigger punch down the middle, even if they agree to a new contract with No. 2 center John Tavares, also a pending UFA. If they can’t extend the latter, though, pursuing one or both of Granlund and Suter this summer immediately becomes their top priority instead of a “nice-to-have” pickup in addition to a partial replacement for Mitch Marner on the wing. That’s an increasingly likely outcome with Tavares and the Leafs not being close on a new deal as of Saturday.
If the Leafs manage to retain Tavares, they’d presumably be more interested in Suter as a minute-munching third-line option while keeping Tavares in favorable offensive deployment with William Nylander on the second line if he’s not moved up to Auston Matthews’ unit in place of the departing Marner. Granlund, on the other hand, is far less of a two-way player than Suter but has a significantly higher offensive ceiling that could, at least feasibly, be a near-direct replacement for Tavares in favorable usage if they can’t re-sign him. The 33-year-old Finn totaled 22 goals and 66 points in 83 games this year, split between the Sharks and Stars. That’s 0.19 fewer points per game than Tavares gave Toronto, but playing with Nylander could help him cover the gap.
Suter would be an expensive third-line piece, but the 29-year-old would be worth the price of admission to give the club its best option at the position since their deadline pickup of Ryan O’Reilly in 2023. The 5’11” Swiss native had a career-high 25 goals and 46 points last year with Vancouver, averaging north of 17 minutes per game and often seeing duties as a matchup forward. He played far more at center than he had in the past, and while faceoffs remain an issue (42.7 FOW%), he had favorable possession metrics in the most difficult defensive deployment of his five-year NHL career. He saw significant time on both special teams units as well, particularly shorthanded, where he averaged 2:17 per game to lead Vancouver forwards.
Shilton named Claude Giroux as a more speculative/tertiary option. He’s not mentioned in the same tier of interest as Granlund and Suter for good reason. The 37-year-old remains in productive talks with the Senators on a contract extension and hasn’t consistently played down the middle in quite some time, although he still takes a good deal of faceoffs and does so quite well. He won 59.1% of his draws over the last three years in Ottawa.
Why anyone would wanna play for the leafs is beyond me
What reason? other than a non Leaf fan. Good organization, they pay well, only negative is the off ice scrutiny and over the top media coverage.
Good organization? 🤣
No cups in 50+ years
Overcharge for tickets so only rich people go
They have to pay well to get players like a lot of teams
Granlund is honestly a great fit for the Leafs, I like that signing. I’ve heard he’s a super positive presence in the locker room too, and I think that team needs it.
Toronto will have to pay twice as much as they typically do just to get Suter &/or Granlund to join the team. Players don’t seem to take discounts to play in Toronto but tend to want more to do so.
Granted, I’m sure practically every FA is linked in some fashion or another to Toronto according to the media haha. We’ll see if either player actually ends up in Toronto.
The Leafs are identified with every UFA…..just like every off-season. :D
McDavid linked to Toronto.
@Pyramid – Dude, McDavid is also linked to LA & Tampa too. I’ve seen articles for both. What’s your point?…McDavid isn’t a FA, so don’t expect him to go anywhere right now.
Lighten up, Francis, we’re justing having fun with the Leafs.
Right and Pope Leo is rumored to love the Leafs more than the White Sox.
link to dictionary.com
Love the Stripes reference. @Feel the teardrops doesn’t have a sense of humor.
@Gbear – I knew you were joking around, calm yourself mate. It was @Pyramid I was simply questioning as I couldn’t tell with him based on his post. You can’t always indicate one’s dictation through a comment board but unfortunately people have to be dicks about it.
Linked,Showing interest, Kicking the tires, According to insiders, Elliotte Friedman says, Does anyone take the environmentally toxic Maple Leafs serious?