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Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Michael Hutchinson

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have brought back a familiar face, signing goaltender Michael Hutchinson to a two-year, two-way contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $725K at the NHL level, making Hutchinson an inexpensive depth option at what has become a crowded position in Toronto.

Maple Leafs fans will certainly be pulling their hair out reading this news, after Hutchinson was basically run out of town for his poor performance last season. The 30-year-old goaltender posted an .886 save percentage in 15 appearances with the Maple Leafs, going 4-9-1 before eventually being shipped to the Colorado Avalanche. Perhaps it’s Colorado where his stock rose again, as Hutchinson was forced into action for the Avalanche during their postseason run and played admirably.

Though Hutchinson now comes to Toronto as the potential fourth option behind starter Frederik Andersen, backup Jack Campbell, and newcomer Aaron Dell, this move does check off a few boxes for the Maple Leafs. First, and likely foremost, Hutchinson would give the team another option should Dell be claimed on waivers if the team ever decided to send him to the minor leagues. Second, Hutchinson will now actually fill the expansion draft requirement for the Maple Leafs if they decide to leave Andersen unsigned and protect Campbell next year. Every team needs to expose at least one goaltender that is signed through the 2021-22 season, something that Andersen and Dell both do not represent.

If the AHL season goes as planned, it will be interesting to see how the Maple Leafs work out playing time though. Dell and Hutchinson are both veterans who could succeed at the minor league level, but the team also has two prospects in Joseph Woll and Ian Scott that will need seasoning. There is the speculation that the NHL may carry a taxi squad or increased rosters due to the COVID-19 protocols, in which point Dell or Hutchinson would be a strong option as a third traveling goaltender.

Mac Hollowell Loaned To TUTO

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have sent another one of their prospects overseas, this time loaning Mac Hollowell to TUTO of the Finnish second league. Hollowell split last season between the Toronto Marlies and Newfoundland Growlers in his first year of professional hockey.

Selected in the fourth round two years ago, Hollowell is another Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds connection for the Maple Leafs—the organization that GM Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe both came from. The undersized defenseman is already 22 as he was an over-aged prospect when the Maple Leafs picked him, but certainly brings a lot of talent to the table.

In 2018-19 when Hollowell went back to the Greyhounds, he led all OHL defensemen in scoring with 24 goals and 77 points. While he was older than much of his competition, it still demonstrated the easy puck-moving capabilities that Toronto hopes to coax out at the professional level. Things didn’t go quite as smoothly in the AHL, but Hollowell did still record 12 points in 34 games for the Toronto Marlies.

A longshot to ever become an impact player at the NHL level (or perhaps even reach it at all), Hollowell nevertheless signed his entry-level contract in 2019 and is heading into the second season of the three-year deal. He’ll get his blades on the ice in Finland for the time being but is expected to be back in North America for training camp.

Semyon Der-Arguchintsev Loaned To KHL

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have loaned another one of their prospects overseas, this time sending Semyon Der-Arguchintsev to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL. Der-Arguchintsev signed his entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs back in 2018 but has been playing in the CHL, meaning it still has three years remaining on it.

Now 20, Der-Arguchintsev’s professional career is about to start. The undersized forward was drafted 76th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2018 and recorded 75 points in 55 games this season for the Peterborough Petes of the OHL. Notably, he has routinely been a linemate of Toronto’s top forward prospect, Nick Robertson, who led the league with 55 goals this season. A pure playmaker, Der-Arguchintsev racked up and 63 assists, good for third in the league behind only top draft picks Marco Rossi and Cole Perfetti.

Born in Russia, Der-Arguchintsev has been playing in Canada since he was 14 and has never been included in the Russian national junior teams. Now he’ll be heading back to his native country to take the next step in his professional career. The Maple Leafs did not specify whether the young forward will return for NHL training camp in the coming months, or spend the entire season in the KHL.

Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Stuetzle, Dermott

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With quite a few changes having been made to the Buffalo Sabres roster this offseason, including the additions of Taylor Hall and Eric Staal into their top six, Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski writes that the team is done upgrading their roster, but a possibility of a trade still exists as the team is overloaded on defense.

The scribe writes that the Sabres could look to find a taker for either Colin Miller or Brandon Montour for a draft pick, which would open up a spot for 23-year-old William Borgen, a highly touted St. Cloud State player who has played just four NHL games so far after two years in the AHL.

  • Ottawa Senators newly-drafted forward Tim Stuetzle might have trouble joining the Senators for the upcoming 2020-21 due to his contract with Alder Manheim in Germany. The European rule is that a player with a valid cannot sign an NHL contract after Aug. 15. While that rule doesn’t make as much sense considering the draft was on Oct. 6, the rule still applies, according to deputy commissioner Bill Daly. The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian (subscription required) writes that Mannheim’s general manager Jan-Axel Alavaara said the only way Stuetzle could play for the Senators this season is if Mannheim releases him from his contract, which would then freely allow the 18-year-old to join Ottawa when the 2020-21 season begins. That would also require the German Federation to sign off on it. Salvian notes that no decision has been made on whether Mannheim would allow Stuetzle out of his contract, but the third-overall pick is still recovering from a fractured hand that he suffered on Oct. 13 and was given a six to eight-week recovery time. Of course, neither the DEL or the NHL have started their seasons with the DEL season having been postponed twice already with a current timetable of a December return. Regardless, expect general manager Pierre Dorion to continue to negotiate with Mannheim.
  • After being forced to accept a one-year pact with the Toronto Maple Leafs, defenseman Travis Dermott will have to bet on himself to benefit from a better deal next season. The blueliner will have to fight for a spot on the Maple Leafs’ blueline, according to Jonas Siegel (subscription required), who adds that Dermott will be fighting for playing time with Justin Holl, Zach Bogosian, Mikko Lehtonen and Rasmus Sandin for the final three spots on Toronto’s defense and easily could be forced to play on his off-hand in order to earn minutes.

Travis Dermott Re-Signs With Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have re-signed restricted free agent Travis Dermott to a one-year contract. Dermott, who was not eligible for arbitration, has signed for his qualifying offer amount of $874,125.

This always seemed the likely outcome for the Maple Leafs, given how tight their cap situation is this offseason. The team had all the leverage in a negotiation with the young defenseman and benefit most from pushing any multi-year talks down the road. Dermott, 23, will be arbitration-eligible next offseason and able to command a bigger salary after playing in 157 games through his first three NHL seasons.

Though he hasn’t quite turned into the top-four defenseman the Maple Leafs envisioned when they selected him 34th overall in 2015, Dermott has been a quality contributor for the team and figures to be that once again in 2020-21. Even with several new additions on the right side, Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas even told reporters that Dermott would likely move to his off-side. Where that puts him in terms of the depth chart isn’t clear, though at such a low cost he can now be kept around even if he’s not in the lineup every night.

The Maple Leafs now sit just a little more than $1MM over the salary cap ceiling, though that CapFriendly projection has them at a full roster of 23 players. The team can easily send players like Rasmus Sandin down to the AHL to get under that $81.5MM threshold and have only Joey Anderson (who is also waiver-exempt) to sign as a restricted free agent.

It may have cost them Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson to do it, but the Maple Leafs appear to have basically completed their offseason goals while staying cap compliant—something that seemed extremely difficult just a few months ago. Time will tell whether the team has actually improved and how head coach Sheldon Keefe will deploy his new players.

Snapshots: Joyce, Colorado, Payment

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to hire Eric Joyce as their new director of hockey strategy, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. Joyce had been with the Florida Panthers since 2013, most recently as the senior vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager. With new leadership in the Florida front office, there was bound to be additional departures.

More from around the league:

  • The Colorado Avalanche won’t be playing at the Pepsi Center next season. No, that rink will now be called the Ball Arena after a new partnership with the organization. Ball Corporation and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which own the Avalanche, announced a “first-of-its-kind global partnership across three marquee venues” to advance a goal of waste control and sustainability in sports and entertainment.
  • Seravalli also reports that players that have a contract for 2020-21 and were frozen on an NHL roster at the time of the league pause, will be paid 8.1% of their upcoming salary by October 31. John Shannon adds on Twitter that this will be the only payment players will receive before the next season begins. This payment is important to remember when evaluating trades starting next month, as the remaining salary will be lessened even further even though games have yet to start.

Maple Leafs Re-Sign Ilya Mikheyev

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The Maple Leafs have avoided salary arbitration with Ilya Mikheyev as the team announced they’ve re-signed the winger to a two-year deal with an AAV of $1.645MM.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that the deal pays $1.1MM in 2020-21 and $2.19MM in 2021-22.

Yesterday, the two sides filed their arbitration submissions with Mikheyev requesting a one-year, $2.7MM pact and Toronto countering with a two-year deal with a $1MM AAV.  With the player filing for the hearing which was scheduled for Wednesday, the Maple Leafs got to choose what the term would have been had they gone through with the proceedings.  As is often the case in these, they settled close to the midpoint of the two filings which was $1.85MM.

The 26-year-old signed with Toronto last offseason and played relatively well in his NHL debut, picking up eight goals and 15 assists in 39 games while logging over 15 minutes per night.  His rookie campaign was cut short due to a wrist injury which cost him 31 games although the delayed start of the playoffs due to the pandemic enabled Mikheyev to return for the postseason in their five-game loss to Columbus.

Despite the inexperience in North America, Mikheyev was eligible for salary arbitration because of his age which allowed him to earn a decent raise on the $925K he made in his rookie year.  Had his case gone to a hearing, it would have been a tricky one to navigate due to the lack of true comparable players in his situation but that’s all moot now.

While the deal gives Toronto a middle-six forward at a decent price tag, it also only buys out his two remaining RFA years, allowing Mikheyev to return to the open market in 2022.  That price tag also was originally set to be higher as Sportsnet’s Luke Fox notes that the original agreement was for slightly more but that the team called back at the last minute to ask him to take a bit less to help them stay cap compliant.

With this contract now done, Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas can now turn his focus to his last remaining NHL-level restricted free agent in defenseman Travis Dermott with recently-acquired winger Joey Anderson also needing a new deal but he will likely be AHL-bound.  Dermott recently wrapped up his entry-level contract and wasn’t eligible for arbitration.  With Toronto likely needing to carry close to a minimum-sized roster and shuffle several entry-level players back and forth with the AHL Marlies as it is to be cap compliant, it’s likely that Dermott’s contract will also be a short one to maintain as much short-term flexibility as possible.

Mikheyev’s agent Dan Milstein was the first to report the contract while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first with the AAV.

Toronto Maple Leafs, Ilya Mikheyev Exchange Arbitration Figures

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After Tony DeAngelo, Matt Grzelcyk and Andrew Mangiapane all signed new contracts before their hearings this week, the arbitration schedule will be kicked off on Wednesday with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ilya Mikheyev. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the two sides have exchanged filings. The Maple Leafs have filed for a two-year contract that carries an average annual value of $1MM, while Mikheyev’s camp has filed for a one-year, $2.7MM contract. It is important to remember that in the NHL, the arbitrator does not need to choose one filing or the other and usually instead awards a contract somewhere in the middle. The two sides can also come to an agreement in the coming days, though this year once the hearing begins they must wait for the reward and cannot settle while the arbitrator deliberates.

After moving out $6.6MM in the form of Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson the Maple Leafs are actually in a fine position to afford Mikheyev’s arbitration result and re-sign restricted free agent Travis Dermott. The bargain-bin shopping of GM Kyle Dubas resulted in low-cost additions of Wayne Simmonds, Jimmy Vesey, Zach Bogosian and Joe Thornton, meaning they aren’t in quite the salary cap pickle as they were a year ago.  Remember that when Mikheyev and Dermott are signed, two other players can be sent to the minors (or junior, in the case of Nick Robertson) to clear up that extra room.

The hearing for Mikheyev will be interesting though, given how little experience the 26-year-old has at the NHL level. Signed out of the KHL in 2019, Mikheyev was a revelation for the Maple Leafs early on, recording eight goals and 23 points while providing strong penalty killing. He regularly saw time playing beside John Tavares and looked well on his way to becoming a valuable middle-six option for the team. Unfortunately, Mikheyev suffered a scary wrist injury in late-December. New Jersey Devils forward Jesper Bratt’s skate came up and sliced Mikheyev’s arm, severing tendons and causing the Russian forward to require immediate surgery.

Though he did return for the Maple Leafs short-lived postseason, he failed to score a single point against the Columbus Blue Jackets and now heads into arbitration with just 23 points in 44 career NHL games. Since these hearings are based on actual production, not potential, it’s likely that the Maple Leafs will get a bargain relative to what he could have demanded had the injury never have occurred.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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.

Joe Thornton Signs With Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Joe Thornton to a one-year contract worth the league minimum of $700K. The deal does not include any performance bonuses but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic does confirm that it includes a no-movement clause.

It’s been a long courtship of Thornton in Toronto. The team made a real pitch to bring him to the Maple Leafs back in 2017 alongside former teammate Patrick Marleau, but the San Jose Sharks legend returned to California instead. Three years later and the team has landed their man, though he certainly won’t be a centerpiece of the roster this time around.

Now 41, there’s no question that Thornton isn’t the player that won the Hart Trophy in 2006 or even the one that scored 51 points in 2018-19. He had just seven goals and 31 points last season for the Sharks, his lowest total since a 1997-98 rookie campaign. But Toronto isn’t bringing in Thornton to be the focus of the offense, but a veteran leader to add another voice in the dressing room and a little more responsibility on the bench.

If there is anyone who can understand the pain of failing playoff expectations, it’s Thornton. After 1,636 regular season games and 179 more playoff contests, the future Hall of Famer forward has still not sipped from Lord Stanley’s Cup. Ninth all-time in games played, seventh in assists, and 14th in points, Thornton will be joining only the third NHL team of his long career.

Currently playing in Switzerland for the club team in his offseason home, Thornton’s fit in Toronto isn’t even exactly clear at this point. The team already re-signed Jason Spezza to serve on the fourth line and brought in names like Wayne Simmonds, Jimmy Vesey and Travis Boyd to battle for spots in the bottom-six. If Thornton is to be penciled into that group, it seems likely that there could be another body—perhaps Pierre Engvall, who is still waiver-exempt—headed back to the minor leagues.

The Maple Leafs also still need to sign arbitration-eligible Ilya Mikheyev, who has a hearing later this month, as well as restricted free agent defenseman, Travis Dermott. All that without any actual cap space, though every time they add a $700K forward they can theoretically add some cap space by sending someone else down or trading them to another team.

There’s likely still more maneuvering for GM Kyle Dubas, but the Maple Leafs have landed one of their targets. Whether that target has any game left is still to be seen.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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