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Maple Leafs Notes: Campbell, Dermott, Mrazek

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With Morgan Rielly locked up, the most important pending free agent for the Toronto Maple Leafs is Jack Campbell. The 29-year-old is currently in the second season of a two-year deal signed with the Los Angeles Kings in 2019 and carries a $1.65MM cap hit. Given his performance since arriving in Toronto–a .922 save percentage in 36 regular season appearances–he’s likely in line for a substantial raise.

Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reported yesterday that extension talks have begun between Campbell and the Maple Leafs, hours before he posted his fifth career shutout in a 4-0 dismantling of the Vegas Golden Knights (or at least some of them). Campbell was asked after the game whether this report was accurate, and said he didn’t even know. The netminder did express a desire to stay in Toronto, however, explaining how much he loves playing for the Maple Leafs.

  • On The Jeff Marek Show today, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet suggested that the Maple Leafs have let teams around the league know that one of their defensemen is available and speculated that it could be Travis Dermott. Dermott suffered an injury last night blocking a shot and though it was determined he didn’t break any bones, the young defenseman was missing from practice today. Once again, the Maple Leafs coaching staff has shown that they don’t trust Dermott to play big minutes, as he’s averaged just 14 through the first nine games of the season. The 24-year-old signed a two-year deal in July that carries an average annual value of $1.5MM.
  • Petr Mrazek is still not full healthy according to head coach Sheldon Keefe, but is good enough to serve as a backup for Campbell tomorrow night. The biggest question about Toronto’s goaltending heading into the year was would they be able to stay healthy, and Mrazek gave the team a scare when he failed to even make it through his first start without suffering a groin injury. The team has very little depth behind their oft-injured tandem–Michael Hutchinson is the team’s third option–so keeping both healthy this season is a top priority.

Ilya Mikheyev Skating; No Update On Return

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Campbell, Maple Leafs Have Not Started Extension Talks

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  • The Toronto Maple Leafs locked up Morgan Rielly yesterday, signing him before he got anywhere close to unrestricted free agency next summer. Another one of their pending UFAs, Jack Campbell, is playing very well for the club in the early going and setting himself up for a big payday. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, there have only been preliminary talks between the Maple Leafs front office and Campbell’s representatives, and that happened before the start of the season. The Maple Leafs of course signed Petr Mrazek to a three-year deal this summer, which carries a $3.8MM cap hit. Mrazek is playing tonight for the club as he returns from injury.

Vegas Golden Knights Claim Michael Amadio

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Vegas Golden Knights claimed forward Michael Amadio off waivers Saturday afternoon from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Amadio was placed on waivers yesterday by Toronto after somewhat unexpectedly making the team’s opening night roster. The 25-year-old Ontario native played just three games with Toronto before he was waived.

The acquisition of Amadio gives head coach Peter DeBoer some additional lineup flexibility as the team’s been hamstrung by injuries early on in the season. As five lineup-regular forwards (Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Alex Tuch, Mattias Janmark, Nolan Patrick) are currently unable to go, young players like Jake Leschyshyn and Jonas Rondbjerg have been forced into action for Vegas, likely earlier in their developmental paths than the organization hoped. Patrick has been placed on injured reserve to make room for Amadio on the roster, per Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

It allows Vegas to return one of Leschyshyn or Rondbjerg to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, where they’ll be much more comfortable. Amadio is a versatile forward who can play any position, and while he usually wouldn’t be a lineup or even NHL regular on a Stanley Cup-contending team like Vegas, an aforementioned injury bug forced their hand.

When all is said and done, it’s likely Amadio appears on the waiver wire again later in the season when Vegas’ health improves.

Minor Transactions: 10/29/21

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The hockey world got some unexpected news this morning with the Toronto Maple Leafs extending defenseman Morgan Rielly for eight seasons. That’s certainly quantifiable as a major transaction, but many other teams and players at lower levels of hockey have made paper moves today as they deal with the ripple effects of moves at the NHL level. Here are today’s minor transactions:

  • The AHL’s San Jose Barracuda have loaned defenseman Montana Onyebuchi to the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, per the Solar Bears’ Twitter. Onyebuchi joined the Barracuda on an AHL contract after taking part in the San Jose Sharks’ training camp this past offseason. The 21-year-old Onyebuchi served as an alternate captain for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers during the past two seasons, and had 12 points in 20 games in a COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.
  • The Springfield Thunderbirds, AHL affiliate of St. Louis, added two players to the roster today in forward Nic Pierog and defenseman Nick Albano. Both Pierog and Albano had been playing with the team’s ECHL affiliate, the Worcester Railers, but only Pierog was under an AHL contract. He was recalled after scoring two points in two games with Worcester and has five points in 15 career AHL games. Albano was on an ECHL contract and was signed to a professional tryout agreement with Springfield. Albano had one goal in three games after not playing during the 2020-21 campaign.

Michael Amadio Placed On Waivers By Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs placed 25-year-old forward Michael Amadio on waivers today, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The move leaves Toronto with no extra forwards on the roster as Ilya Mikheyev remains on injured reserve. While Petr Mrazek is healed from injury and ready to return against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, he was never officially placed on injured reserve. It’s possible that there’s a corresponding call-up coming from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe inserted Amadio into the lineup in only three games up until this point, averaging only 9:10 per game with no points and a +1 rating. Keefe deployed Amadio exclusively on the fourth line with Jason Spezza and Wayne Simmonds, a role that offseason addition Nick Ritchie finds himself in now after a slow start influenced a massive line shuffle.

Playing parts of five seasons in the league, Amadio’s played 176 contests with the Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators, and Maple Leafs. 168 of those 176 games came in a Kings uniform, as well as all of his 16 goals and 39 of his 40 career points.

The likelihood of a claim here is relatively low, as he’s done little in the past two seasons to show that he’s an everyday NHL player. If he clears, he’ll likely report to a Marlies team that’s dealing with a significant injury to top prospect Nicholas Robertson.

Morgan Rielly Signs Eight-Year Extension

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have locked up one of their leaders for a long time, announcing an eight-year extension for Morgan Rielly. The defenseman was in the final year of his current deal and will now be under contract through 2029-30. The deal carries an average annual value of $7.5MM, a raise on the $5MM cap hit he currently carries. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic clarifies the trade protection in the deal, explaining that there is a no-movement clause for the entire extension, which also is extended through the rest of this season. An NMC does not actually necessarily include a no-trade clause, however, and in this case, Rielly has received (in addition to the NMC which prevents the player from being placed on waivers) a full no-trade in the first six years and a 10-team no-trade in the final two.  CapFriendly reports the full breakdown:

  • 2022-23: $4.0MM salary + $4.0MM signing bonus
  • 2023-24: $5.0MM salary + $5.0MM signing bonus
  • 2024-25: $10.0MM salary
  • 2025-26: $8.0MM salary
  • 2026-27: $6.0MM salary
  • 2027-28: $6.0MM salary
  • 2028-29: $6.0MM salary
  • 2029-30: $6.0MM salary

Rielly, 27, appears to have taken a discount to stay with the Maple Leafs, at least in terms of annual salary compared to some of the contracts that have been handed out in recent months. Since entering the league in 2013-14, Rielly rank 19th among defensemen in scoring with 309 points in 580 games and finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting in 2018-19. That year he posted 20 goals and 72 points, numbers that do seem to be a bit of an outlier given he has not cracked ten goals in any other season.

In fact, while Rielly’s offensive numbers have been consistent and his durability has been a huge positive, his true upside doesn’t appear to be quite as high as some believed in the past. Last season, for instance, Rielly finished the year with just eight more points than teammate Jake Muzzin, despite seeing drastically easier deployment and spending most of the year on the first powerplay unit.

Even with those questions around his potential upside, there’s little doubt that Rielly could have secured a higher AAV on the open market, had he decided to test free agency next summer. That would have come with offers of only seven years in length though, making it easy to see why he would want to ink the eight-year pact that could very well be a higher total than he could have secured in free agency. He also is now able to stay with the team he’s played with his whole career, and the one that he wears an “A” for as alternate captain.

Still, even at a relative cap hit discount, this is an extremely risky move for the Maple Leafs. The team is already dealing with huge cap hits for three forwards and are now adding $2.5MM per season to a defenseman that hasn’t been able to get them over the first-round hump to this point. Rielly is a core member of the team, but he’ll also turn 28 before this extension even kicks in and now eats up even more of their precious cap space.

It’s hard to argue that this contract gets the Maple Leafs any closer to winning a Stanley Cup, even if it does look like a reasonable amount for a player of Rielly’s skill level.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Petr Mrazek Recovering As Expected From Groin Injury

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  • Maple Leafs goaltender Petr Mrazek is progressing as anticipated in his recovery from a groin injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Postmedia’s Terry Koshan. The netminder will accompany Toronto on their upcoming three-game road trip although he may not be able to get back in the lineup next week.

Kase Returns To Practice

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  • When Ondrej Kase misses practice, speculation immediately goes to the worst possible situation, given his long history of major injuries in the NHL. When he was absent yesterday for the Toronto Maple Leafs, many assumed he’d suffered another ailment that would keep him out of the lineup. Perhaps not, as Kase was back at practice today for the Maple Leafs and appears to be ready to go when they battle the San Jose Sharks tomorrow night.

Nick Robertson Out 10 Weeks With Broken Leg

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If you were a Toronto Maple Leafs fan counting the days until top prospect Nicholas Robertson gets recalled, you might need to find a new hobby. The young forward suffered a broken right fibula in Sunday’s AHL contest and will be out a minimum of ten weeks. Robertson will not undergo surgery.

The uninspiring play of Nick Ritchie on the Maple Leafs’ top line through the first few games of the season has many wondering if Robertson would get a chance to play in Toronto’s top-six this season, but that idea will have to wait for quite some time. The young forward has been plagued by injury issues through the early part of his professional career, missing a good chunk of last season with a serious knee issue.

Now 20, the 2019 second-round pick has ten NHL and 23 AHL games under his belt since dominating the OHL a few seasons ago. After being drafted, he put up 55 goals in just 46 games for the Peterborough Petes, making scouts drool with his mix of finishing ability and relentless tenacity. Unfortunately, unlike his brother Jason Robertson, the Maple Leafs prospect stands just 5’9″ and to this point hasn’t been able to withstand the punishment of a full professional season.

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