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Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Rodion Amirov

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed one of their top prospects, inking Rodion Amirov to a three-year entry-level contract. Notably, the deal will not start until the 2021-22 season, meaning Amirov is not eligible to play for the Maple Leafs right away. In the release, the team indicates that he will be joining the Toronto Marlies and the organization’s development system as soon as his visa and quarantine is sorted out. GM Kyle Dubas released a short statement on the young forward:

Our Club is pleased to have Rodion formally signed today. We look forward to welcoming Rodion to Canada in the coming weeks and having him begin working with our player development staff in Toronto. We also look forward to continuing to work with Ufa with his development next season. Ufa has done an excellent job guiding Rodion’s development as a player to date and we are excited to work very closely with them through the summer and into the future.

That statement suggests that Amirov will head back to the KHL on loan for the 2021-22 season where he plays for Ufa Salavat Yulayev. In fact, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet even tweets that Amirov may be back in Russia for the 2022-23 season as well if he fails to make the NHL roster. In 39 regular season games this season he recorded 13 points and was held scoreless in nine postseason matches.

Importantly, Johnston also reports that Amirov will not have any performance bonuses built into his entry-level deal, making it easier for the Maple Leafs to recall him when they feel he is ready.

Selected 15th overall in 2020, Amirov has shown flashes of brilliance in the KHL but also often looks overmatched against players sometimes more than a decade his senior. When playing against similar-aged competition at the World Juniors he fared a bit better, recording two goals and six points in seven games. It was really at the Karjala Cup, an international tournament in Finland, where Amirov really showed what he could do, earning top forward honors for the event. The Russians won the tournament despite sending their junior team.

The Maple Leafs won’t see him in the lineup anytime soon, but getting Amirov to sign was an important step towards getting him to North America permanently.

Injury Notes: Gallagher, Tanev, Eichel, Andersen

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Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin spoke with the media today following the passing of the trade deadline and did not parse words when asked about injured star Brendan Gallagher. Bergevin does not believe that Gallagher has a chance to play prior to the conclusion of the regular season, he openly admitted. This would align with the six-week timeframe that Gallagher received after fracturing his thumb this past week. There was some optimism that Gallagher could return before the Canadiens’ season is currently scheduled to end on May 11, but Bergevin either does not see this as realistic or simply will not rush Gallagher back to play regular season games. With the North Division playoff teams all but set, Montreal faces little risk of missing the postseason so the priority with Gallagher is only to get him as healthy as possible for the playoffs.

  • Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall had similar things to say about one of his own players today. Hextall told the media that the move to acquire Jeff Carter was at least partially influenced by the belief that Brandon Tanev will not play again in the regular season. He stated that Tanev’s upper-body injury, which landed him on Long-Term Injured Reserve, is a “tough injury to judge” but that he does not believe the rugged forward can return before the playoffs. Tanev has been a scoring presence and a physical presence for the Penguins this year and the team will have to replace his output in a number of areas. Fortunately, Hextall at least noted that Kasperi Kapanen is expected back in 10-14 days and Evgeni Malkin is likely to play again before the end of the regular season.
  • The Buffalo Sabres’ season is obviously lost and the team will not rush injured superstar Jack Eichel back into action to play meaningless games. GM Kevyn Adams spoke to the media today and stated that Eichel has not officially been shut down for the year, but he is at least out for a while longer. The superb center has missed 18 games since suffering a neck injury in early March and has only made “slight improvement” in that time per Adams. He did not rule out Eichel playing in some of the Sabres’ final games, but by that point it seems even more unlikely that the team will see any value in putting him back in the lineup.
  • One GM did share some optimism with the media today regarding a key injury. Toronto’s Kyle Dubas made it clear that he does not consider starting goaltender Frederik Andersen to be done for the season. Andersen’s has been struggling with a nagging injury and to this point there has been no timetable for his return. As a result, Dubas made a major addition in net by trading for David Rittich to pair with the red-hot Jack Campbell, but he did not rule out Andersen taking his job back at some point. Dubas did not try to guess as to whether Andersen would be able to return before the end of the regular season or if he would instead be active for the playoffs, but he simply believes that Andersen will play for the Maple Leafs again this year. For the impending free agent, pushing through the pain to get back on the ice may be Andersen’s last chance of suiting up for Toronto again.

Trade Rumors: Florida, Chicago, Toronto, Hall, Iafallo

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The Florida Panthers’ trade of Brett Connolly earlier today was seemingly a precursor to something more, perhaps even a lot more. The trade opens up even more cap room for a Panthers’ team that already had substantial space, seemingly allowing them to do whatever they want at the trade deadline. With an estimated $16.4MM in full-season cap space per CapFriendly, no one is off limits to the Cats, who are looking to make the most of their firm playoff position in the Central Division. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports during the latest edition of “Insider Trading” that Florida is seeking both a top-six forward and top-four defenseman and with this additional space, there is no reason why they can’t address both if they can find reasonable trades. LeBrun notes that the Panthers were one of the teams discussing Kyle Palmieri with the New Jersey Devils prior to yesterday’s deal and will have to look elsewhere for help up front. On the blue line, LeBrun believes that rookie GM Bill Zito could look to reunite with David Savard, one of his former players in Columbus and a player heavily expected to be dealt before the deadline. One way or another, the Panthers are absolutely a buyer and a team to watch as Monday’s deadline approaches.

  • As for the other side of this morning’s trade, the Chicago Blackhawks are expected to continue to use their cap room in hopes of adding other assets, LeBrun reports. Today’s deal not only landed a serviceable forward in Connolly, but also two nice young assets in Riley Stillman and Henrik Borgstrom. GM Stan Bowman would like to make as many of these types of deals as he can before the deadline. With so many teams across the league struggling with cap space, the Blackhawks could net several other pieces by offering up their financial flexibility. Specifically, LeBrun notes that Bowman has been talking to the Maple Leafs about a trade that would free up some space in Toronto.
  • The Maple Leafs have been searching for a forward for some time, but it has not been going well. Not only are the Leafs dealing with a cap crunch, but their targets keep disappearing from the market too. Frank Seravalli reports that Toronto had previously shown strong interest in both Palmieri and Nashville’s Mikael Granlund; Palmieri is now an Islander and the Predators are in playoff position. The team will have to look elsewhere, but don’t expect them to turn to Taylor Hall. While Darren Dreger notes that interest in Hall is picking up with Palmieri off the market, Seravalli notes that the Leafs are not a suitor. Both Hall’s cap cost and the asking price to acquire him are thought to be too much for GM Kyle Dubas. That could change if Toronto finds a way to open up cap space and the bidding war for Hall fizzles out, but it seems unlikely that a deal will come together by Monday if the Leafs have shown no interest thus far.
  • Tanner Pearson has finally signed a new contract with the Vancouver Canucks, but don’t worry a new extension-or-trade drama has already rose up to take it’s place. Seravalli reports that the Los Angeles Kings have been working hard to re-sign impending UFA forward Alex Iafallo and have previously turned away trade offers. However, the two sides have not been able to reach an agreement and time is running out. L.A. is now finally listening to offers for Iafallo, though extension talks continue. The Kings still hope to re-sign the 27-year-old scorer, but will have no choice but to trade him if a deal is not in place by Monday. L.A. is too far outside of a playoff spot right now to justify keeping Iafallo only to watch him walk for nothing as a free agent.

North Notes: Maple Leafs, Holloway, Senators Goalies

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For the past several weeks, the belief has been that the Maple Leafs would be targeting a top-six winger upgrade.  However, GM Kyle Dubas told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that Alex Galchenyuk’s performance so far has reduced the urgency to make such a move.  The 27-year-old has a goal and three assists in nine games with Toronto and will require waivers to go back to the taxi squad once he suits up again.  Their cap situation is well-known – they’re pretty close to needing to match money in whatever moves they try to make – so it would definitely help if Galchenyuk can hold down that spot on the second line.

Dubas also indicated that he’s hopeful to have more information regarding Frederik Andersen’s availability over the next few days and that he expects that the Maple Leafs won’t have to make a move to bring in any extra goaltending depth.

More from the North Division:

  • In an interview with Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (subscription link) Oilers GM Ken Holland indicated that they have told top prospect Dylan Holloway that they would like him to turn pro. However, with his broken thumb, he’s still several weeks away from being available to play so that decision can be deferred for a while.  The 19-year-old had a very strong sophomore year at Wisconsin with 11 goals and 24 assists in just 23 games and if he’s healthy and willing to turn pro, he could be an interesting addition to Edmonton down the stretch.
  • The Senators could be getting their goalie tandem back soon. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch notes that both Marcus Hogberg and Matt Murray are skating and nearing returns; Hogberg has been out since mid-February while Murray was injured in the pregame warmup back on March 14th.  Anton Forsberg and Filip Gustavsson have served as the goalies in recent weeks and while the latter is waiver-exempt, Forsberg could once again find himself in the third-string reserve role that he has held for most of the season.

Toronto Maple Leafs Willing To Trade Top Prospect

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Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas held his midseason availability today as the team enjoys a few off days in a row and was asked many questions about the upcoming trade deadline. Dubas admitted that most of his talks have been about forwards and that the Canadian quarantine protocols will push him to make a deal sooner rather than later, but one answer was quite clear. When asked if he was willing to trade a top prospect at this year’s deadline, Dubas flatly responded “yes” with no further explanation. For a manager that always seems to have time to expand on an answer, that was telling.

While there may be some debate as to which are considered “top prospects” in the Maple Leafs system, names like Nicholas Robertson, Rasmus Sandin, and Rodion Amirov are likely among them. It could also perhaps include Timothy Liljegren, the 17th overall pick from 2017, but his status in the Maple Leafs organization isn’t exactly clear as he continues to be denied many opportunities at the NHL level. Darren Dreger of TSN lists those four together and suggests they are in the same category as the team’s first-round pick this year, available for a “near perfect fit.”

Dubas, who has usually spoken out against the idea of acquiring rentals at the deadline, also mentioned that this season may be one that it is considered, thanks to a squeezed cap moving forward. The Maple Leafs are also obviously viewing themselves as contenders in the North Division and perhaps see this as a real opportunity to advance deep in the playoffs—something they haven’t been able to do for so long.

The team doesn’t have much cap flexibility to work with at this year’s deadline, though sending out some money could solve that problem. If they are willing to move a top prospect or high draft pick as well, Toronto will have to be considered on basically any of the high-end rentals this year. Just a few days ago our PHR community voted Taylor Hall as the top rental available, with names like Bobby Ryan, Eric Staal, and Kyle Palmieri all coming in on the next tier. Any of those forwards might have an impact for Toronto, though each come with their own complications.

Denis Malgin Clears Waivers

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Jan 6: Malgin has cleared and can continue to play in Switzerland.

Jan 5: The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed another depth forward on waivers. Denis Malgin has hit the wire as he continues to play in Switzerland for Lausanne. Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said he would not interrupt that season for a player who was not guaranteed a roster spot, so Malgin will finish the year in the NLA before returning to North America. To do that, he needed to be waived at some point.

Still, Malgin is an interesting candidate to be claimed if some team wants to throw a wrench in the Maple Leafs’ plans. The 23-year-old forward actually has 192 games of NHL experience and scored 22 points in 51 games with the Florida Panthers in 2017-18. Malgin signed a new one-year, one-way $700K contract with the Maple Leafs in October but was still pushed down the depth chart by several free agent additions.

For now, should he clear he will continue to play for Lausanne, where he has 22 points in 19 games. The undersized forward is a candidate to join the Maple Leafs later on after his season ends, giving them some additional depth down the stretch.

Atlantic Notes: Chara, Maple Leafs, Danault

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With a big four-year extension for Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, the Bruins continue to work on their defense after the departure of Torey Krug. Of course, much of that work relies on a decision by veteran Zdeno Chara, who is still considering what he is going to do for the 2020-21 season.

Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty writes that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said that the team can do nothing, but wait to hear from Chara about what his offseason plans are.

“We have communicated consistently with Zdeno and [his agent] Matt Keator,” said Sweeney. “We’re just waiting for him to initiate what he’d like to do moving forward. I feel very comfortable allowing [the decision-making process] to take the necessary time and let Zdeno make his own decisions along that route.”

Of course, Keator did say that Chara has received multiple inquiries from other teams and the veteran is considering all options, according to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required), which isn’t good for Boston who will need the 6-foot-9, 250-pounder to help stabilize their defense after losing Krug to St. Louis more than a week ago and lack the financial abilities to bring in a solid replacement.

  • In a conference call with reporters as well as NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said that he doesn’t foresee the team making any more roster moves, which includes adding more players or having to move a player out. The GM said the Maple Leafs will now focus on signing their own restricted free agents with next week’s arbitration case of Ilya Mikheyev on tap next, followed by focusing on working out a deal with defenseman Travis Dermott.
  • The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) writes that Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has now signed defenseman Jeff Petry and forward Brendan Gallagher to long-term deals. He also managed to swap forwards Max Domi and Josh Anderson, signing the latter to long-term deal as well. When asked what his next task would be, Bergevin replied that he was thinking about going on vacation, sounding like his work this offseason is finished. Basu writes that can’t be good news for center Phillip Danault, who is on his last year of a three-year, $9.25MM contract and has said he would like to stay long-term as long as his role on the team is guaranteed. The 27-year-old has posted 25 goals and 100 points combined over the last two seasons, but with young centers Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki ready to step into more significant roles in the near future, there may not be a big role remaining for Danault.

Frederik Andersen Expected To Start For Toronto

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been rumored to be one of the teams considering a change in net this offseason, but when GM Kyle Dubas took the (virtual) podium today to speak with reporters he didn’t seem interested in changing his starter. As Chris Johnston of Sportsnet tweets, Dubas explained that he expects Frederik Andersen to be the team’s starting goaltender when the next season opens and has addressed the speculation directly with his netminder.

Just because Dubas says he expects Andersen to be in net, doesn’t necessarily mean that the team didn’t have talks with other teams. Specifically, discussions with the Carolina Hurricanes were widely reported to have included Andersen’s name.

In a year where there are at least a dozen strong options available, it’s hard to imagine there would be a huge market for Andersen, who has just one year remaining on his current contract. The Maple Leafs would also have needed a replacement unless they decided to give the starting role to Jack Campbell, something that seemed unlikely given his experience and the team’s desire to compete for a Stanley Cup.

That contract of Andersen’s is something to keep an eye on though as Toronto will need to make plans for the 2021-22 season at some point. Their top two goaltending prospects, Ian Scott and Joseph Woll are not ready for the NHL yet while an extension for Andersen would be pricey and risky given his age and inconsistency in the past. If the Maple Leafs have shut the door on a move this offseason, a window might have to be opened in the coming months.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Frederik Andersen

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have now gone another year without winning a playoff series (this time not even getting out of the qualification round) and there are changes coming to the roster. Kasperi Kapanen has already been shipped out of town to the Pittsburgh Penguins for cap space and a draft pick, but more names are swirling in the rumor mill already.

One of those names is starting goaltender Frederik Andersen, who has been already been linked to the Carolina Hurricanes by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Continuing that story, Friedman was on the radio this morning and explained what he knew about the situation:

The most concrete information I can give you is that since the rumors really got going, I think Kyle Dubas has reached out to Frederik Andersen and spoken to him twice, just to kind of fill him in on what’s happening. From what I understand, [Dubas] has told [Andersen] ’we are not shopping you, but we are getting asked about you. And there are teams that have interest in you.’ 

Where those conversations have gone from there, I can’t tell you. But I know that’s the general tone of the message.

Friedman goes on to say that he doesn’t beleive the Maple Leafs will make a move “just for the sake of making a move.”

There has certainly been a lot of smoke around the veteran goaltender the last few weeks, though it’s not clear exactly how the Maple Leafs will deal with the situation just yet. The most important factor in Andersen’s situation, perhaps other than his struggles during the 2019-20 regular season, is his contract status. Signed only through 2020-21, he would need a new deal from the Maple Leafs if he is to be their starter moving forward. The fact that he will turn 31 next month and just had the worst season of his career doesn’t help his case to sign a long-term deal, but it’s not like Toronto has an in-house option ready to replace him.

In terms of their depth chart, the Maple Leafs did acquire Jack Campbell from the Los Angeles Kings earlier this year, but he has never appeared in more than 31 games in a season. The team locked him up with a two-year extension, but it’s hard to see them handing the keys to him for the majority of the games next year. Joseph Woll and Ian Scott are both interesting prospects but neither one appears to be ready for the NHL, leaving free agency and trade the only options to find an upgrade in net should they move on from Andersen.

Of course, this year may be the best chance to do that given the glut of goaltenders available. Robin Lehner, Jacob Markstrom and Braden Holtby are all scheduled for unrestricted free agency, while other names like Matt Murray (a former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhound, where Dubas cut his teeth in the OHL) and Alexander Georgiev could be available in trade.

If the Maple Leafs are looking for a substantial return in an Andersen trade, it might not be out there. The St. Louis Blues recently had to settle for a third-round pick in a trade for Jake Allen, despite a pretty comparable situation. Andersen is almost a year older than Allen and costs a little more against the cap next season, but both are scheduled to reach free agency in 2021. Allen lost is starting gig in St. Louis last year, but had a much better statistical season than Andersen in 2019-20. While an argument can certainly be made about the defense corps each goaltender is playing behind, it’s hard to see a considerable package coming back to the Maple Leafs in a trade.

There is one more interesting twist in his value however, and that is the fact that $4MM of Andersen’s $5MM cap hit will be paid in a signing bonus this season. That means an acquiring team would only need to pony up $1MM for the year, something that might be very interesting in a depressed financial climate. Andersen also holds a partial no-trade clause, with which he can block moves to ten teams around the league.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

More On The Kasperi Kapanen Trade

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The instant reaction from many fans and media members upon hearing the news this morning that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins had completed a trade revolving around Kasperi Kapanen was not exactly one of shock. The two teams had both made it clear that changes needed to come after qualification-round exits, though this may have been a little sooner than even most people expected. Kapanen was sent to Pittsburgh for a package that included the Penguins first-round pick this season and prospect Filip Hallander, a deal that earned Toronto GM Kyle Dubas plenty of praise online.

Now that the dust has settled a bit, it’s easy to see why this deal can be regarded as a positive for Toronto. The team is basically recouping an asset that had been lost while gaining some cap flexibility and an interesting prospect to boot. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the Maple Leafs had been working the phones hard to try and get a first-round pick for this year—something they’d given away last summer in order to get Patrick Marleau’s contract off the books. LeBrun reports that Dubas and the Maple Leafs front office had spoken with the New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes about Kapanen, trying to get a first-round pick from almost all of them.

The Maple Leafs now sit with the 15th overall pick in a draft that is expected to be deep with NHL talent, especially at the center ice position. That’s a spot where the Toronto pipeline is thin, despite having two bonafide stars in the middle on the NHL roster. Beyond Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Alexander Kerfoot, who currently slots into the third-line center role, there aren’t any obvious choices in the organization that could play top-nine minutes. The team used a mix of Frederik Gauthier, Jason Spezza and Pierre Engvall in the middle during the season but none are exceptional options at this point in their respective careers.

Pittsburgh meanwhile, is going for it once again with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin another year older. In the press release announcing the trade, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford specifically said that Kapanen could improve the team’s top-six, something that he repeated when speaking to Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

We’ll have to see how it goes in camp and what (coach Mike Sullivan) decides. (Bryan) Rust and Kapanen are top-six guys. It will be a matter of what works for everybody. Kapanen could go with Malkin. Or Rust could go with Malkin and the other guy with Sid. We’ll see how it plays out.

Rutherford explained that he “wasn’t going to wait” when he learned that Kapanen was available and thinks the speedy forward can be in Pittsburgh “for a long time.” Of note, Kapanen is under contract for two more seasons but will still be a restricted free agent at the end of 2021-22, able to be re-signed to a longer deal.

As for Hallander, the prospect that has Maple Leafs fans excited? Rutherford admitted that the Penguins liked him but didn’t project he could have the same kind of top-six impact. That’s obviously the key to the deal for Pittsburgh as they look to directly surround Crosby and Malkin with talent and push for another Stanley Cup.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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