- The Maple Leafs have added some defensive depth as their farm team announced the signing of blueliner Ben Finkelstein to a one-year, minor-league deal. The 23-year-old was a seventh-round pick of Florida back in 2016 but didn’t sign in 2020 after wrapping up his college career. Finkelstein spent this season with Greenville of the ECHL, averaging nearly a point per game with 11 goals and 21 assists in 35 games.
Maple Leafs Rumors
Free Agent Focus: Columbus Blue Jackets
Free agency is now just a little more than a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Columbus doesn’t have a lot of huge names to lock up, but it’s still an important offseason for the franchise.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Patrik Laine – It was an incredibly challenging year for the Finnish winger. After being dealt to Columbus by the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for center Pierre-Luc Dubois, Laine proceeded to put up the worst season of his career playing for the Blue Jackets. Struggling under the now-departed John Tortorella’s system, Laine put up just 21 points in 45 games with Columbus and only 10 goals. It’s a sharp decline after his 63-point campaign in 2019-20. While it’s expected that Laine should bounce back under different coaching next season, it’s tough to bank on that when assessing giving out a long-term contract. Due to his struggles this year, and the potential that Laine may not want to stay in Ohio, a bridge deal is likely in order. It’ll likely take him right up until his first season of unrestricted free agent eligibility, and the Blue Jackets will hope to return to being a contender by that point.
F Alexandre Texier – Drafted 45th overall by Columbus in 2017, Texier is slowly but surely making the transition to full-time NHLer. While Texier’s offensive pace dropped slightly this year with just four goals in 49 games, his ice time spiked to almost 16:00 per game this year. He’ll likely see more chances in a top-six role this coming season as Columbus turns to a youth movement. Regardless, it should be a cheap contract extension for Texier, likely under $3MM per season on a show-me deal. The French-born forward has shown some serious flashes of promise in the big leagues, and he’s looked at as a big future piece in Columbus’ middle-six forward group.
Other RFAs: F Kole Sherwood, F Cliff Pu, F Calvin Thurkauf, D Andrew Peeke, G Cam Johnson
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Michael Del Zotto – Del Zotto was a nice surprise on the back end for Columbus this season. The 31-year-old defender has bounced in and out of the lineup in recent years due to injury and poor play, but found a stable home with Columbus this season. He started out the season well in a third-pairing role, but moved up the lineup as injuries struck Columbus’ top defenders, especially Zach Werenski. Del Zotto wasn’t a dynamo offensively with just 13 points in 53 contests, but rediscovered his transitional game this season, having arguably his most defensively sound performance since his days with the New York Rangers. With his age and injury history, it’s still unlikely Del Zotto signs anything more than a one-year deal with any team. He’d certainly fit in well again in Columbus next season, as there’s no clear heir-apparent to his spot. With them potentially losing a defender like Dean Kukan to Seattle, re-signing Del Zotto could prove important for the Blue Jackets. Even if not, Del Zotto played well enough this season by most accounts to earn an NHL job again in 2021-22.
D Mikko Lehtonen – Coming over from the KHL with high expectations, Lehtonen mostly fell off the map this season. Signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs before the season’s start, Lehtonen failed to work his way into a regular spot. In an effort to get Lehtonen some more NHL opportunity, Toronto dealt him to Columbus midway through the season. But even with the Blue Jackets, Lehtonen couldn’t work his way out of a bottom-pairing role. Logging around 18 minutes a night in Columbus, Lehtonen posted just three points in 17 games and got caved in defensively most nights. While he had promise coming into the season, it’s likely that Lehtonen will go back to a more comfortable environment overseas.
Other UFAs: F Zac Dalpe, F Mikhail Grigorenko, F Stefan Matteau, F Ryan MacInnis, F Brandon Dubinsky, D Adam Clendening, D Gavin Bayreuther
Projected Cap Space
The Blue Jackets will have plenty of space to maneuver this offseason with around $23.8MM in cap space. With the minute list of players needing new contracts, and with Laine’s and Texier’s being the only real ones of value, the team will have plenty of room to add in free agency and on the trade market. Columbus’ scoring issues have been well-documented over the past few seasons, and it’s a foregone conclusion that something will be done this offseason to address it further. That available cap hit is also expected to increase with the impending trade of Seth Jones, meaning that Columbus may be able to outbid other teams for premium talent.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Negotiation Notes: Larsson, Andersen, Makar, Canucks
After locking up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to a long-term deal earlier today, the Edmonton Oilers will next turn their attention to reaching a new deal with defenseman Adam Larsson. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger in the latest edition of “Insider Trading“, that is more of a “when” than an “if” at the is point. Dreger states that the two sides are already close to a new deal and “in the final stretch” of negotiations. He expects that an extension will be reached soon. For Expansion Draft purposes, soon may not be until later next month, but a handshake agreement will do in the meantime. Larsson, 28, is one of the more stable defensemen in the NHL. If the defensive-minded right-shooter hit the open market, he would draw plenty of attention, but like Nugent-Hopkins, Larsson appears willing to settle on a deal to keep him in Edmonton with reigning Hart Trophy winners Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. So really, with RNH signed and Larsson not far behind, the Oilers may actually be focusing on external negotiations already, as Dreger notes they must add a goalie and complementary scoring forwards this summer.
- It may come as a surprise following a career-worst season, but there is mutual interest in an extension between the Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltender Frederik Andersen. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that agent Claude Lemieux recently met with the Maple Leafs’ brass and both sides expressed interest in a new deal, perhaps to the surprise of both. Andersen is likely not keen to enter the open market after a down year (and really many years of slow decline) when he could instead stay in familiar territory in Toronto. The Leafs also need a netminder this off-season and may be content to stick with Andersen, despite his struggles, given the play of Jack Campbell this season. LeBrun does point out that Toronto has told Andersen’s camp that he would be sharing the net with Campbell, potentially even starting out at less than 50% of starts, but Andersen is reportedly open to that arrangement.
- Every year there is the threat of offer sheets and every year it never happens, but LeBrun notes that rumblings around the league are that Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar could be the prime candidate this summer. With the Avalanche needing to extend the First Team All-Star as well as captain Gabriel Landeskog, starting goaltender Philipp Grubauer, and top-six forward Brandon Saad, all while saving room to extend superstar Nathan MacKinnon and replace several impending UFA’s next summer, cap space is tight in Denver. If another team swooped in with an offer that Makar couldn’t refuse, it might just be too much of a handicap for the Avs. Doubtful, but possible. Colorado can eliminate the risk of an offer sheet to their young phenom if they can lock Makar up before the market opens on July 28.
- The Vancouver Canucks are already hard at work on extension for arguably their two most important players, defenseman Quinn Hughes and center Elias Pettersson. The pair of restricted free agents are centerpiece players for the Canucks and the team will whatever it takes to keep them around as long as possible. Dreger notes that GM Jim Benning and company are meeting again this week with agents from CAA Sports, who represent both young stars. A number of possibilities are on the table for both players, including a three-year bridge deal for Pettersson in the same vein as the recent contracts of Mathew Barzal and Brayden Point. However, it seems like long-term is the ideal goal. Pettersson is reportedly open to a long-term deal like that of Mikko Rantanen, while Hughes has explored contracts with terms between four and six years.
Toronto Maple Leafs Extend Wayne Simmonds
June 29: The team has made the contract extension official, signing Simmonds for two years. The deal carries an average annual value of just $900K, a significant decrease from last year and a reasonable number for the veteran forward. The entire cap hit is low enough that it could be buried in the minor leagues if necessary, but Simmonds will likely play a key role in Toronto’s bottom-six for the next while.
June 28: The Toronto Maple Leafs had several veteran forwards scheduled for unrestricted free agency this summer, but not all of them will reach the open market. The team already signed Jason Spezza to another one-year extension, and now Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the team is working on a deal with Wayne Simmonds.
Simmonds, 32, played on a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Maple Leafs this season, but ended up struggling to provide much excess value. Things started quite well, with five goals in his first 12 games, but then Simmonds suffered a fluke injury that resulted in a broken wrist. He would miss nearly six weeks before making his return, and managed just two goals and four points in the final 26 games. In Toronto’s seven-game playoff series against Montreal, Simmonds registered just a single assist.
Teammates throughout his career have raved about Simmonds’ leadership qualities and his ability to improve the dynamics of a locker room, but those things are extremely difficult to quantify (especially when you consider that the veteran forward has never been on a team with much playoff success). The Maple Leafs obviously believe in his ability to help them get over that hump though, and certainly, for a near-minimum salary, it would make some sense. Toronto continues to need to navigate the salary cap carefully thanks to their expensive forward talent, meaning low-risk deals for players like Spezza and Simmonds are likely to come every offseason.
Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Ryan Hardy As Senior Director Of Minor League Operations
- Despite the playoffs not being over, the Toronto Maple Leafs are making multiple moves this offseason. After re-signing Jason Spezza not too long ago, the club announced today the addition of Ryan Hardy to the front office. Hardy will serve as the team’s Senior Director of Minor League Operations, which includes being the general manager of both the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers. Hardy leaves behind a very successful run with the USHL’s Chicago Steel, making it to the league finals in 2018-19 and winning the championship in 2020-21. He’s assembled an incredible amount of high-end draft-eligible players this year for a non-USNTDP USHL team, including sniper Matthew Coronato. Replacing Hardy for the Steel in the interim is Noelle Needham, who’s worked closely with Hardy and could also be in line soon for an NHL job.
Coaching Notes: Vincent, Hakstol, Boudreau, Tocchet
New Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen is adding to his staff. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Blue Jackets are set to hire Manitoba Moose head coach Pascal Vincent as an assistant to Larsen. Vincent had previously left Paul Maurice’s Winnipeg Jets staff in favor of being the head coach for their AHL affiliate, but seemingly is back to being open to an NHL assistant role. Vincent has spent the past decade with the Jets organization and the previous dozen years as a head coach and GM in the QMJHL. With an impressive resume, Vincent may see this Columbus opportunity as a way to get his name out there beyond the confines of Winnipeg in hopes of attracting NHL head coach attention of his own down the road. Vincent will re-unite with Jack Roslovic in Columbus; he previously coached him as a prospect with the Moose but he has now become the No. 1 center for the Blue Jackets. That relationship should be mutually beneficial for the pair.
- The big coaching news of the day was of course the hiring of Dave Hakstol as the first head coach of the expansion Seattle Kraken. And while Hakstol’s role will be in the locker room and not the front office, GM Ron Francis will certainly take his opinions into consideration. After all, it was the Florida Panthers, the former team of Vegas’ inaugural head coach, Gerard Gallant, that were swindled the worst by the Golden Knights in the last Expansion Draft. Florida traded Reilly Smith and a fourth-round pick so that Vegas would select Jonathan Marchessault over the likes of Alexander Petrovic and Mark Pysyk. While no teams should be fooled so badly this time around, Hakstol’s knowledge of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadephia Flyers – not to mention the numerous University of North Dakota alumni around the league – could come into play. The Flyers in particular are expected to have many well-known names exposed in the draft, some of whom played their best seasons under Hakstol, and the coach may know exactly how to target the team.
- The Maple Leafs now have a vacancy on their coaching staff in the wake of Hakstol’s departure, but the club’s fans think they have already figured it out. Yahoo’s Thomas Williams writes that there has already been an outpouring of support for veteran coach Bruce Boudreau to be hired as the team’s newest assistant. The Toronto native and former Maple Leafs player spoke out this off-season as a free agent that he would like to coach his hometown team and fans seem to agree with the match. Boudreau has had a long and successful coaching career and some feel that head coach Sheldon Keefe could use the veteran support on the bench. With that said, Boudreau has never served as an assistant in the NHL and interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach vacancy late last month. Despite any personal feelings and fan support, Boudreau will take the top job for the struggling Sabres over a No. 2 role for Toronto.
- Of course, Boudreau is not the only candidate for the Sabres’ job, as Rick Tocchet is also among the names who interviewed for the position. Tocchet interviewed multiple times with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Seattle Kraken, only to lose out on all three jobs. He has reportedly only interviewed once with Buffalo, who may not have been his top choice at first, but they are the only landing spot left, as the other remaining NHL head coach position is the post he vacated with the Arizona Coyotes. Tocchet is clearly a well-regarded and sought-after coach, so now that they are his last hope at a top job this season, perhaps the Sabres and Tocchet will get serious about a potential match.
Minor Transactions: 6/23/21
As we cross the middle of the week, many minor transactions are coming up on the wire. Many teams are trying to solidify depth for the 2021-22 campaign as a return to normal operations is expected throughout the hockey world. You can keep up on today’s slate of minor transactions right here:
- The AHL’s Rockford IceHogs announced today via their team website that they’ve re-signed goalie Cale Morris to a one-year contract. After four seasons (three as the starter) for the University of Notre Dame, Morris, who went undrafted, signed with the IceHogs prior to the 2020-21 campaign. As Rockford faced goalie uncertainty this year with expected starter Kevin Lankinen working his way up to the Chicago Blackhawks, Morris impressed in a backup role. Playing in seven contests, Morris amassed a .923 save percentage in spite of a 2-3-0 record. The Larkspur, Colorado native will likely split time between Rockford and the ECHL’s Indy Fuel next season as Chicago’s goalie depth chart is replenished.
- Another AHL club made moves today as well, as the Cleveland Monsters made two additions on offense, announced today on the team’s website. One of them was Justin Scott, who’ll return to the team for a sixth straight season. Signing with Cleveland after his last OHL season, Scott’s been a member of the club since 2016-17. He served as an assistant captain this past season, posting seven points in 18 games. Scott should be a solid voice in the room, as the Blue Jackets will rely heavily on Cleveland in the coming seasons to develop their next generation of players. The team also announced the re-signing of Tristan Mullin, who got into 15 games with Cleveland last year after his college career ended with the University of Vermont. The 6′ 2″ forward showed flashes of potential, scoring three goals, but still might spend time in the ECHL next year with a restocked Cleveland roster.
- A rather large trade was announced this morning in the QMJHL via the league’s Twitter account. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan acquired Washington Capitals first-round selection Hendrix Lapierre and a 2023 seventh-round draft pick from the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in exchange for forwards Julien Bourget and Alexis Dubé along with a myriad of draft selections, including first-rounders in 2022 and 2023. Lapierre was one of the most highly-regarded prospects in the 2020 draft before a season laced with injury limited him to just 17 points in 19 games. Lapierre, healthy this season, improved mightily on the scoresheet, scoring 31 points in a shortened 21-game season with Chicoutimi. He’ll now spend his last season in the OHL with Acadie-Bathurst as he continues his development.
- Teams will be adding a couple of names to their draft boards soon, as CapFriendly clarified the draft re-entry status of two NHL prospects. Mathew Hill, a former sixth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks, and Eemeli Rasanen, a former second-round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs, will both re-enter the draft in July. One of the last selections taken before Kyle Dubas became general manager, Rasanen appealed with his physical presence and 6′ 7″ frame. However, the Finnish defenseman has struggled immensely overseas, posting no points this year with HPK in the Liiga. He’ll re-enter the draft as a 22-year-old overager, and it’s unlikely he’ll be selected at this point. Hill, just 20 years old, has also failed to pan out in the way Anaheim wished. With his Barrie Colts not playing a season this year in the OHL, and Hill seeing just three games of action in Demark’s junior league on loan, his future in the NHL remains extremely uncertain.
Coaching Notes: Ducharme, Tocchet, Seattle, Toronto
Following up on the positive COVID-19 test of Montreal Canadiens interim head coach Dominique Ducharme, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston was the first to report that Ducharme will indeed miss the next two weeks as a result. Although the NHL has relaxed many rules pertaining to its COVID Protocol, a positive test still warrants a 14-day isolation period. Especially when the Canadiens were fortunate enough to not have any other positive tests among its players and staff, the league wants to maintain the health and safety of the team as well as the integrity of its semifinals. With that said, losing Ducharme is a blow for Montreal. The interim coach has led the team on an unexpectedly triumphant playoff run as the mid-season interim replacement for Claude Julien. The Habs will now lean on an interim interim head coach in assistant Luke Richardson, who coached the team to a Game Three win. Assuming Ducharme’s 14-day isolation began on Friday when the positive test was discovered, the earliest he can return to the bench would be Friday, July 2nd. Montreal’s semifinal series with the Vegas Golden Knights, if it even goes seven games, will end on Saturday, June 26th, nearly a week before Ducharme ends his isolation. Richardson and the Canadiens will need to string together a couple more semifinal wins and potentially even a Stanley Cup Final win or two if Ducharme is to coach again this season. It’s terrible luck for Ducharme, who had received both doses of his vaccination and told the media this morning that contact tracing has been unable to determine how he might have contracted the virus as he did not break any protocol.
- Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis keeps things notoriously close to the vest and his ongoing coaching search is no different. Other than Rick Tocchet, who has interviewed for a number of vacancies so far making his bid for Seattle’s inaugural head coach role more public, there is not much known about who else may be a finalist for the job. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Francis brought a few candidates to Seattle this week for in-person interviews, but could only confirm Tocchet as one – his third interview for the position. Friedman speculates that recently fired New York Rangers head coach David Quinn, Boston Bruins assistant Joe Sacco, and University of Wisconsin Tony Granato could be the other names in the mix. Tocchet certainly seems like the favorite at this point, but don’t be shocked if Francis ends up making a surprise hire.
- Friedman also notes that other NHL teams are interested in Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coaches and have requested permission to speak with them. Friedman does not name any coaches in particular, but of their group of assistants former head coaches Dave Hakstol and Paul MacLean could certainly be drawing interest, as could up-and-comer Manny Malhotra. At this time, the Maple Leafs have not made any decisions on if they will allow their assistants to explore these opportunities, especially since they are likely to be lateral moves.
A Case For Toronto To Pursue Dougie Hamilton
- With Toronto facing significant cap challenges with their four high-paid forwards, it would stand to reason that they shouldn’t be going after a high-priced free agent. However, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox posits that the Maple Leafs should at least consider taking a run at Carolina blueliner Dougie Hamilton, who has permission to speak to other teams about a contract. Such a move would require at least one significant contract coming off the books – perhaps Morgan Rielly – but Fox notes that they kicked the tires on Alex Pietrangelo last fall which suggests that GM Kyle Dubas may be willing to ponder a big swing again.
Toronto Maple Leafs Re-Sign Jason Spezza
The Toronto Maple Leafs have brought back some veteran depth while also filling one of their expansion issues. Jason Spezza has re-signed with the team for the league minimum of $750K. The one-year deal always seemed like a sure thing between the two sides, given Spezza’s desire to play in Toronto and his excellent performance this past season.
Not only does Spezza provide valuable scoring depth for the cap-strapped Maple Leafs, but the team also was facing a difficult expansion draft situation. Every team must expose at least two forwards that reach a games played requirement and are signed through next season. That was going to be tricky given so many expiring veteran contracts on the Maple Leafs roster, but Spezza will fill one of those slots. Of course, it could mean that the Kraken select him, but given the way his camp spread the idea of retirement the last time he was on waivers, Seattle would be taking a big risk.
Once thought to be on his way out of the league, Spezza has been rejuvenated in Toronto, scoring 55 points in 112 games. That production has come despite averaging fewer than 11 minutes per game, making the 38-year-old forward one of the best per-60 producers in the league. The fact that he added three goals and five points in the Maple Leafs’ series against the Montreal Canadiens only endeared him more to the hometown crowd.
The former All-Star needs just 30 points next season to reach 1,000 for his career and will also likely climb into the top-100 for games played. While there is obvious doubt that he can keep this up forever, a one-year contract for this price comes with absolutely no risk.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images