Snapshots: Three Stars, Keller, Makar, Boeser
The NHL announced its three stars for the month of March as Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid has found his way to the top once again, named the first star. McDavid picked up 13 goals and 15 assists in 16 games, which pulls him into the lead for the Art Ross Trophy race. Despite the Oilers struggles, McDavid has taken his game to a new level as he has hit career highs in goals (41) and points (103) and remains six points ahead of Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for top spot in the NHL.
Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand is the league’s second star for March as he had 10 goals and 16 assists in 15 games. Anaheim goaltender John Gibson picked up third star honors after playing in 13 games, picking up nine wins and boasting a .931 save percentage during that span.
- Arizona Coyotes announced rookie Clayton Keller was named NHL Rookie of the Month for the second time this season. Keller, who won the award in October, had a strong start to the season, but struggled during the winter months before picking it back up recently. He picked up 19 points in the month of March, including six goals over 17 games. The 19-year-old is ranked second among rookies in points with 63 behind the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal.
- BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater tweets that the Colorado Avalanche will have to wait a little while longer to get bring in 2017 first-round pick Cale Makar into the fold. The fourth-overall pick has decided to return to the University of Massachusetts – Amherst for his sophomore year. An elite power-play defenseman, Makar had a solid freshman year at Amherst, putting up five goals and 21 points and the Avalanche had hopes of instantly upgrading its defense for next year.
- Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal tweets that it is doubtful that Vancouver Canucks rookie Brock Boeser plays for Team USA at this year’s 2018 IIHF World Championships in Denmark. Boeser went down for the season with a back injury and likely will spend his summer getting ready for the 2018-19 season. The 21-year-old had a great rookie season in which he scored 29 goals and picked up 55 points.
Who Is On Pace To Score 60 Points In 2017-18?
In 2016-17, only 42 NHLers hit the 60-point benchmark for the season. It was the lowest total since the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season (obviously), when only Martin St. Louis notched sixty, and down eleven from the 53 players who hit the mark two years earlier in 2014-15. However, with scoring up this season in the NHL, will the league increase it’s number of top scorers? Or will a greater depth and distribution of talent continue to limit players from reaching the high numbers of yesteryear?
As of now, with the 2017 segment of the season about to close, here are the players on pace for 60 points in 2017-18:
- Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 54 points in 37 games, Projection: 120 points
- Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 48 points in 37 games, Projection: 107 points
- John Tavares, New York Islanders – Currently: 49 points in 38 games, Projection: 106 points
- Josh Bailey, New York Islanders – Currently: 49 points in 38 games, Projection: 106 points
- Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers – Currently: 46 points in 38 games, Projection: 99 points
- Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers – Currently: 46 points in 38 games, Projection: 99 points
- Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers – Currently: 45 points in 38 games, Projection: 97 points
- Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche – Currently: 43 points in 37 games, Projection: 95 points
- Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets – Currently: 44 points in 39 games, Projection: 93 points
- Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames – Currently: 41 points in 38 games, Projection: 89 points
- Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins – Currently: 41 points in 39 games, Projection: 86 points
- Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals – Currently: 41 points in 40 games, Projection: 84 points
- Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings – Currently: 40 points in 39 games, Projection: 84 points
- Anders Lee, New York Islanders – Currently: 39 points in 38 games, Projection: 84 points
- Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks – Currently: 38 points in 37 games, Projection: 84 points
- Brock Boeser*, Vancouver Canucks – Currently: 38 points in 36 games, Projection: 84 points
- Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues – Currently: 41 points in 41 games, Projection: 82 points
- Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins – Currently: 32 points in 29 games, Projection: 82 points
- Jon Marchessault, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 34 points in 33 games, Projection: 81 points
- Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals – Currently: 39 points in 40 games, Projection: 80 points
- Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils – Currently: 36 points in 36 games, Projection: 80 points
- Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers – Currently: 36 points in 38 games, Projection: 78 points
- Vincent Trocheck, Florida Panthers – Currently: 36 points in 38 games, Projection: 78 points
- Mathew Barzal*, New York Islanders – Currently: 36 points in 38 games, Projection: 78 points
- Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers – Currently: 36 points in 38 games, Projection: 78 points
- Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins – Currently: 35 points in 35 games, Projection: 78 points
- Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues – Currently: 38 points in 41 games, Projection: 76 points
- Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres – Currently: 35 points in 38 games, Projection: 75 points
- David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins – Currently: 34 points in 37 games, Projection: 75 points
- Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators – Currently: 34 points in 37 games, Projection: 75 points
- Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 34 points in 37 games, Projection: 75 points
- Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins – Currently: 35 points in 39 games, Projection: 74 points
- Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars – Currently: 35 points in 39 games, Projection: 74 points
- David Perron, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 29 points in 30 games, Projection: 74 points
- Evander Kane, Buffalo Sabres – Currently: 34 points in 38 games, Projection: 73 points
- Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers – Currently: 33 points in 37 games, Projection: 73 points
- Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche – Currently: 33 points in 37 games, Projection: 73 points
- Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers – Currently: 32 points in 34 games, Projection: 73 points
- Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs – Currently: 29 points in 29 games, Projection: 72 points
- Artemi Panarin, Columbus Blue Jackets – Currently: 34 points in 39 games, Projection: 71 points
- Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars – Currently: 34 points in 39 games, Projection: 71 points
- Vlad Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 32 points in 37 games, Projection: 71 points
- Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild – Currently: 33 points in 39 games, Projection: 70 points
- Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks – Currently: 18 points in 15 games, Projection: 70 points
- Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames – Currently: 32 points in 38 games, Projection: 69 points
- Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings – Currently: 31 points in 37 games, Projection: 69 points
- John Klingberg, Dallas Stars – Currently: 32 points in 39 games, Projection: 67 points
- William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 29 points in 36 games, Projection: 66 points
- Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche – Currently: 28 points in 33 games, Projection: 66 points
- Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers – Currently: 29 points in 35 games, Projection: 66 points
- Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals – Currently: 31 points in 39 games, Projection: 65 points
- Alexander Radulov, Dallas Stars – Currently: 31 points in 39 games, Projection: 65 points
- Patrik Laine, Winnipeg Jets – Currently: 31 points in 39 games, Projection: 65 points
- Clayton Keller*, Arizona Coyotes – Currently: 31 points in 40 games, Projection: 64 points
- John Carlson, Washington Capitals – Currently: 31 points in 40 games, Projection: 64 points
- Reilly Smith, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 28 points in 36 games, Projection: 64 points
- Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets – Currently: 30 points in 39 games, Projection: 63 points
- P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators – Currently: 29 points in 38 games, Projection: 62 points
- Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers – Currently: 29 points in 38 games, Projection: 62 points
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers – Currently: 29 points in 38 games, Projection: 62 points
- Teuvo Teravainen, Carolina Hurricanes – Currently: 29 points in 38 games, Projection: 62 points
- Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes – Currently: 29 points in 38 games, Projection: 62 points
- James Neal, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 27 points in 36 games, Projection: 62 points
- Kyle Turris, Nashville Predators – Currently: 27 points in 34 games, Projection: 62 points
- Danton Heinen*, Boston Bruins – Currently: 26 points in 33 games, Projection: 62 points
- Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings – Currently: 29 points in 39 games, Projection: 61 points
- Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings – Currently: 29 points in 39 games, Projection: 61 points
- Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs – Currently: 29 points in 39 games, Projection: 61 points
- Jordan Eberle, New York Islanders – Currently: 28 points in 38 games, Projection: 61 points
- Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks – Currently: 26 points in 35 games, Projection: 61 points
- Mikael Granlund, Minnesota Wild – 27 points in 34 games, Projection: 61 points
- Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks – Currently: 27 points in 34 games, Projection: 61 points
- Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 27 points in 36 games, Projection: 61 points
- Erik Haula, Vegas Golden Knights – Currently: 25 points in 32 games, Projection: 61 points
- Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning – Currently: 27 points in 37 games, Projection: 60 points
- Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins- Currently: 25 points in 32 games, Projection: 60 points
- Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators – Currently: 25 points in 32 games, Projection: 60 points
Senators Preparing To Move Players
Following a convincing 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins last night – the same team they knocked out in the playoffs last season yet trail by 15 points in 2017-18 – the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes that GM Pierre Dorion is ready to make some changes. It has been well reported to this point that the Senator’s struggles this season are real and, with the franchise’s future offering more questions than answers, there is a possibility of a fire sale and rebuild in the near future.
While earlier reports indicated that all-world defenseman Erik Karlsson may even be up for grabs, Garrioch says that Dorion has changed his tune, with the word being that Karlsson and young winger Mark Stone are the only untouchables on the Senators roster. Logic would dictate that promising rookies Thomas Chabot and Filip Chlapik are likely on that list as well, but the entire remainder of the roster could be up for grabs at the right price.
The shortlist offered up by Garrioch of the top trade bait includes winger Mike Hoffman, centers Derick Brassard and Jean-Gabriel Pageau and young defenseman Cody Ceci. While they might be harder to move, the team would surely like to get rid of Bobby Ryan and Dion Phaneuf as well. Of that group, the most intriguing name is definitely Hoffman, who by every metric is a top six scoring winger and would be of major interest to many teams across the league. While he may net the Senators a strong return, Hoffman is signed through 2020 at a reasonable $5.2MM and may be a player that Ottawa would regret moving on from.
Changes are coming to Ottawa. It could be a major trade tomorrow or it could be a series of smaller moves up until the Trade Deadline or perhaps even this off-season. However, Dorion is ready to make moves now and, with few pure sellers at this point in the season, the Senators will be a team to watch for the remainder of the 2017-18 campaign.
Injuries Unending In Boston; Krejci, DeBrusk Join Sidelined
Boston Bruins beat writer Joe Haggerty could not have said it better: “You can’t make this stuff up”. The unbelievable rash of injuries continues in Boston, as center David Krejci and rookie winger Jake DeBrusk have been ruled out for Wednesday night’s match-up against the Atlantic-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
The sheer number of injuries suffered by the Bruins this season, especially among the forward corps, is hard to comprehend. 22 games into the 2017-18 campaign the only forward to have played every game are David Pastrnak and energy-liners-turned-top-nine-mainstays Riley Nash, Sean Kuraly, and Tim Schaller. While there is no word yet on the extent of DeBrusk’s injury, the young scorer has been one of the Bruins’ more dependable forwards with 12 points in 21 games, but of course he now joins the long list of casualties. Currently out of the lineup alongwith DeBrusk and Krejci, who had only just returned to action, are 2016-17 leading scorer Brad Marchand, veteran David Backes, power play catalyst Ryan Spooner, promising rookies Anders Bjork and Peter Cehlarik and, of course, defenseman Adam McQuaid as well. Spooner just recently re-injured the groin that had kept him out all but eight games on the season. In the same game, Cehlarik suffered a leg injury that should keep him out at least a month. Marchand and Bjork have been sidelined since November 13th and there has been no concrete information on when exactly either can be expected back. Backes has made a remarkably quick recovery from major surgery to cure his diverticulitis, but he too is not quite ready to return and there are doubts about how he will play once he is back. Other Bruins forward who have missed time already this season: Patrice Bergeron (5 games), Noel Acciari (13 games), and Matt Beleskey (2 games).
The defense has done a bit better though, with captain Zdeno Chara and talented youngsters Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo all suiting up for every game. Kevan Miller has missed only one game, while Torey Krug‘s four-game absence seems like nothing. A platoon of Paul Postma, Rob O’Gara and Matt Grzelcyk has performed well enough in the absence of McQuaid.
In total, the Bruins have missed a whopping 100 man-games already this season, far more than any other team in the league and heavily weighted toward their forwards. That makes it all the more impressive that the team is still sitting pretty in the Atlantic Division. In terms of points percentage, the B’s are third in the Atlantic and just behind the two-time Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins overall. Their 60 goals for may a bottom-five number in the NHL, but what would you expect from a two-way team missing most of its offensive talent? A recent winning streak showed that the Bruins and head coach Bruce Cassidy can get it done, even with a makeshift roster. There is no sign of when Boston will get back to full strength, if ever this season, but if they do it could be dangerous for the rest of the NHL.
Snapshots: Team USA, Fines, Murray
With rosters for the upcoming World Junior tournament released in the next few weeks, Bob McKenzie of TSN took a look at the potential names for Team USA. The club is expected to be one of the favorites after taking home the gold medal last season at both the U20 and U18 events. McKenzie figures the top line to be a trio of Casey Mittelstadt–Logan Brown–Kailer Yamamoto, a group that would likely hold their own in the NHL let alone a junior tournament. Brown and Yamamoto both played in the NHL this season, while Mittelstadt is starring at the University of Minnesota.
One player McKenzie doesn’t mention is Sean Dhooghe, the 5’2″ forward that earned the respect of his teammates at San Jose prospect camp this summer. Dhooghe isn’t one to overlook because of his size though, as he has eight points in 17 games as an undrafted freshman for the University of Wisconsin, and led the U18 team in scoring at last year’s tournament. Dhooghe, 18, could also attend next year if he’s not selected this time around, as there is plenty of talent to choose from for this year’s tournament. It will be held in Buffalo starting December 26th.
- The NHL Department of Player Safety handed out $5,000 fines to both Patrick Kane and Mathew Dumba for their respective incidents last night, the maximum allowable under the CBA. Kane two-handed Anaheim Ducks forward Nick Ritchie as he went towards the bench and was assessed a minor penalty, while Dumba squirted water from the bench at Winnipeg Jets forward Joel Armia. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen fines handed out for water bottle antics, as Steven Stamkos and others were disciplined earlier in the year.
- Casey DeSmith was called up earlier today to fill in for Matt Murray in Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t clear how long the Penguins’ starting goaltender would be out. Turns out he’ll be out on a week-to-week basis, leaving the team with two rookies to fill the crease for the next while. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette caught up with GM Jim Rutherford to ask if he’d be going after another goaltending option, but he seemed okay to trust Tristan Jarry and DeSmith for the time being. “Obviously now we’ll keep a closer watch on it. [Adding a veteran backup] is not something I’m trying to do right now,” said Rutherford, who is also involved in many rumors about defenseman Ian Cole. The Penguins aren’t a perfect hockey team at the moment, and Rutherford has long been known for his willingness to make trades when necessary. It will be interesting to see when (and if) he decides this is one of those times.
Minor Transactions: 11/28/17
Like always, we’ll keep an eye on all the minor transactions around the league right here. Make sure to bookmark or refresh throughout the day to keep up with all the movement.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled goaltender Casey DeSmith from the AHL while starter Matt Murray deals with a lower-body injury. Tristan Jarry will take over the lion’s share of the workload while Murray is out, but DeSmith could be called on if he falters. The Penguins, who’ve struggled with goaltending issues all season so far are now putting their faith in two unproven rookies for the time being. Jarry and DeSmith have a combined four starts in the NHL.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Gabriel Carlsson from the AHL on an emergency basis, sending Markus Hannikainen down in his place. It’s not clear why Carlsson was needed with Scott Harrington already on the roster as an extra defender, but perhaps more than one injury was sustained last night against the Montreal Canadiens. Jack Johnson did play just 15:29, his lowest total of the season.
- Colorado will welcome Anton Lindholm back off injured reserve, but it’ll cost two of their other defensemen. The team has assigned both Chris Bigras and Andrei Mironov to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL, while bringing Duncan Siemans back up. Patrik Nemeth is still on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and doesn’t appear close to a return.
- The Los Angeles Kings have placed Andy Andreoff on injured reserve retroactive to November 25th. That’s the game in which Andreoff took a “Superman punch” from Kevin Bieksa, and was immediately knocked down. Bieksa is becoming infamous for that punch, as it also knocked out Radko Gudas earlier in the year. No corresponding move has been made yet by the Kings.
Janne Kuokkanen Sent To Charlotte Checkers
As we noted in our previous looks at rookies whose contracts were eligible to slide this year, the Carolina Hurricanes have the opportunity to send 19-year old Janne Kuokkanen to the AHL instead of returning him to the London Knights. Kuokkanen played last season for the Knights, but was actually drafted out of the Finnish Liiga and thus was eligible for AHL play. That’s exactly what they’ve done according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, putting a halt on his game counter for this year.
Kuokkanen has played just four games for the Hurricanes this season, fewer than the 10 needed for the first year of his entry-level contract to kick in. Minor league games do not count towards this threshold. Though he’s shown an ability to perform at the NHL level, Kuokkanen was given limited opportunities in the Hurricanes’ lineup, often sitting in the press box while Josh Jooris entered the lineup.
While this ends this short chapter of his NHL career, it by no means guarantees Kuokkanen will be in the AHL long. An injury, or some inconsistent play from one of the veterans could easily lead to another callup. For now though, the teenager will have to find his way along the AHL landscape.
Philadelphia Calls Up Samuel Morin
Given the rash of recent injuries on the Philadelphia blue line, it came as no surprise when the Flyers announced this evening that they had recalled rookie defenseman Samuel Morin from the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms. Morin is expected to suit up for the team when they host the Arizona Coyotes tomorrow night.
In Saturday night’s contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Shayne Gostisbehere left early with injury and his status is still unknown. With Andrew MacDonald out long-term with a lower body injury, an extended absence for Gostisbehere would have left the Flyers down two starters with only five defenseman on the roster. Morin rounds that number back up to six and provides Philly with another capable defenseman.
However, the Flyers may need to think about looking around for another defenseman, if they aren’t already. The “future is now” mentality may be exciting, but Philadelphia will square off with the Coyotes tomorrow with three rookies – Morin, Robert Hagg, and Travis Sanheim – and 20-year-old Ivan Provorov, a severe lack of experience on the back end. Add in just two stay-at-home defenders in Radko Gudas and Brandon Manning as their veteran support, and Philadelphia could benefit from another body on the blue line. With four waiver-exempt assets, the Flyers have the flexibility to add another defenseman without causing themselves any sort of roster crunch down the road.
Draft Pick Landscape For 2018
The 2018 draft is shaping up to be one of the most impressive in recent memory. Though Andrei Svechnikov, a potential first-overall pick will be out for some time broken hand, there are many other top names that will intrigue come draft day. While last year’s class was deeper than some believed, and already has more impact players than expected, 2018 looks even better. There are three or four franchise-altering players, and several others that could turn into superstars in the league.
Knowing that, teams have been awfully stingy when it comes to trading away 2018 picks. For the clearest example, just take a look at the Vegas Golden Knights, who stockpiled picks in their first few months. While they came away with three 2017 first-rounders, and will pick seven times in the first three rounds of 2019, they currently hold just two picks in the first 93, with their third likely not coming until late in the fourth round (it originally belonged to Pittsburgh, who are a good bet to make the playoffs once again).
Still, there has been some movement. Below we’ll list all the team’s 2018 picks and where they’ve come from. Remember, that all non-playoff teams are entered into a lottery for the first three picks of the draft, but subsequent rounds revert to the final standings. Playoff teams are ordered slightly differently, but the Stanley Cup winner and finalists will have the last two picks.
Performance Bonuses Still A Consideration For Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the teams in the league who are almost always right up against the salary cap ceiling. With their tremendous financial backing from corporate ownership, and a rabid fan base that is hard to scare away with even the most futile rosters, they use their situation to get every advantage possible. With that in mind, they’ve previously completed moves that a less wealthy team would just not be able to—moving David Clarkson (who was healthy but ineffective at the time) for the injured Nathan Horton for instance.
Last year brought the next wave of Maple Leafs stars, with rookies like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Connor Brown and Nikita Zaitsev all finding great success as freshmen. While all of them were on inexpensive entry-level contracts, their excellent play earned them all hefty performance bonuses. Leading the way was Matthews, who earned $2.85MM thanks to his 40-goal performance. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet broke down the bonuses for the Maple Leafs, which totaled a whopping $5.37MM on the year, the second most of all-time.
Because the Maple Leafs were using long-term injured reserve (from the aforementioned Horton along with a few others) last season and were above the salary cap ceiling, that entire bonus pool of $5.37MM was applied to this year’s salary cap as an overage. That hurts their ability to manipulate the cap, but not nearly as much as it could in the future.
The Maple Leafs are still in relative safety when it comes to the cap, with their stars still vastly underpaid and a pair of long-term injuries to use as a cushion of sorts. They were able to use some of that room to bring in Patrick Marleau and Ron Hainsey to augment the roster, while seeing almost their entire core return from last year. The problem arises when these entry-level contracts start to expire.
Much has been written over the past year on the Maple Leafs impending contract negotiations with Matthews, Nylander and Marner, but little of it has concerned the impact bonuses could still have. With the team again over the cap and using LTIR, any bonuses earned will again be carried over. With the roster they’re currently carrying, there is the possibility for up to $6.25MM in bonuses, though it doesn’t look early like they’ll have to pay the maximum.
Matthews, with his explosive start looks like a good bet to max out at $2.85MM, though he’d have to finish in the top-10 in goals once again. He’s currently tied for fourth, though obviously it is still early. Nylander and Marner each could earn up to $850K again.
The two wildcards are Swedish defenders Andreas Borgman and Calle Rosen. The pair have rotated in and out of the lineup early on, and are generally limited to the bottom pairing. If that changes because of injury, or they show improved ability and force head coach Mike Babcock into giving them more minutes they too could each earn up to $850K.
While performance bonuses are never exactly a bad thing—they do after all reward success—the Maple Leafs don’t want to have to deal with overages as they head into the next contracts for their big three. Though right now they project to have over $26MM in cap space for next season, that’s not including Nylander’s new deal or possible new contracts for James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak or Leo Komarov. Hacking 20% off that amount with another $5MM bonus penalty will certainly hurt their ability to re-sign the pending unrestricted free agents, and push them even closer to the 2018-19 cap ceiling where they really need to be careful.
Obviously, the Maple Leafs are quite a distance away from being locked into any cap situation. But they have to be considering how to manage the cap for the 2019-20 season when the rest of the big three (Matthews and Marner) move onto their next contracts. That’s not even considering a Jake Gardiner extension, as he’s headed for UFA status in the summer of 2019 as well. When the Maple Leafs are spending next offseason, don’t be surprised if they leave themselves a little bit of extra room to avoid an overage. If not, they could be putting themselves in a very tricky situation.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images