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Denis Malgin Loaned To Lausanne HC

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have loaned Denis Malgin overseas, sending him to Lausanne HC of the Swiss NLA. Malgin signed a new one-year contract with the Maple Leafs last week and had already been training back home in Switzerland.

While he certainly doesn’t draw many headlines, the 23-year-old forward has actually quietly racked up 192 games played over the last four seasons and hasn’t suited up in the minor leagues since 2017. The Maple Leafs acquired him in exchange for Mason Marchment last season and put him in the lineup for eight games down the stretch. Undersized, Malgin is a bottom-six option for the cap-strapped Maple Leafs next season.

Malgin will be expected to return in time for NHL training camp, like some of the other Maple Leafs players currently suiting up overseas. Mikko Lehtonen, one of their prized free agent signings, is currently lighting it up in the KHL once again. When considering how the Maple Leafs will fill out their roster come next season, these inexpensive names currently playing overseas are important to remember.

Wayne Simmonds Drawing Interest

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The free agent market is approaching rapidly and without an interview period, this season things may be complete chaos when the bell strikes on Friday. Then again, perhaps not for every free agent. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Buffalo Sabres have given Wayne Simmonds permission to speak with other teams ahead of free agency.

That news comes on the heels of a report from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens have shown interest in Simmonds. Both teams are looking for a little more physicality in their forward groups, something Simmonds can provide in spades when healthy and playing his best. He’s also an excellent net-front player on the powerplay, something both teams could use.

The question now is whether Simmonds can ever get back to that “healthy and playing his best” status. The 32-year-old scored just eight goals in 68 games this season playing for the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres, after an extremely disappointing finish to the 2018-19 season with the Nashville Predators.

Once one of the best power forwards in the entire league, Simmonds was a perennial 30-goal candidate with oodles of physicality and leadership. In 2015-16 he reached a career-high with 32 goals and 60 points, while also racking up 192 hits for the Philadelphia Flyers. That kind of player is difficult to find in today’s game, but even in the case of Simmonds himself, it may no longer exist.

For at least the Maple Leafs, Simmonds would need to take a drastic pay cut to fit into their financial structure, but perhaps he will be forced to do that anyway by a shrinking market. He earned $5MM on his one-year deal with the Devils, but will likely be looking at a much lower salary this offseason.

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

Toronto Maple Leafs Re-Sign Jason Spezza

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will bring back one of their veteran depth forwards for another season, re-signing Jason Spezza. The new one-year deal will pay Spezza the league minimum of $700K, keeping him in his hometown of Toronto as he continues to try and win the Stanley Cup before his playing career comes to an end.

Spezza, 37, was in the middle of controversy before he ever actually hit the ice for the Maple Leafs after signing with them last summer. Former head coach Mike Babcock decided to make the veteran forward a healthy scratch in the team’s season-opening game against the Ottawa Senators, a team that Spezza happened to have played the majority of his career for. That made Maple Leafs fans, media members, and former players irate, ultimately being one of the mistakes some pointed at when Babcock was fired just over a month later.

With that behind him, Spezza actually did fare quite well in his first season in Toronto. Though he ended with just nine goals and 25 points, that came in 580 games while seeing fewer than 11 minutes of ice time per game. For a fourth-line player earning the league-minimum, an 82-game pace of 35 points was more than reasonable.

Now Spezza will enter the 2020-21 season in competition for minutes once again, but the Maple Leafs need players on inexpensive contracts to fill out their depth chart if they hope to add anyone of significance this offseason. Spezza’s versatility is a big part of his value to the team, as the veteran can line up at center or right wing and contributes on the powerplay.

Maple Leafs Loan Kristians Rubins To Danish League

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While there has been a significant exodus of NHL prospects overseas in recent weeks, there are still some spots available in various leagues.  One of those has been filled by Maple Leafs prospect Kristians Rubins as Frederikshavn of the Metal Ligaen in Denmark announced that they’ve added the blueliner on loan until NHL training camps get underway.

The 22-year-old spent all of last season with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL and collected two goals and 12 assists in 47 games.  It was step up for Rubins after he spent most of his rookie season at the ECHL level with St. John’s.

Next season will be the final year of his entry-level contract and while a good showing with Frederikshavn won’t be enough to get him in the mix for a spot with Toronto, it might aid in his attempt to secure a qualifying offer and a second contract next offseason.  He’s expected to make his Danish League debut on Tuesday.

Toronto Maple Leafs Re-Sign Denis Malgin

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed one of their restricted free agents, inking Denis Malgin to a new one-year deal. The contract will carry a salary of $700K and pushes restricted free agency a year into the future for the young forward.

Importantly for a cap-strapped team like the Maple Leafs, Malgin will come in under the amount he would have received through a qualifying offer. While that offer could have been a two-way deal (which it appears this is not), it would have been worth $787,500 at the NHL level. Even minuscule savings are important for Toronto at this point and given the fact that Malgin was also arbitration-eligible, it seemed plausible that he wouldn’t even receive a qualifying offer in the first place.

Instead, he’ll return to the team on the league minimum and continue in his role as a depth option next season. Malgin was acquired in exchange for Mason Marchment in February and ended up playing eight games for the Maple Leafs before the season was canceled. He failed to score a point during those games, but does have 60 in his 192-game NHL career.

Still just 23, Malgin will likely be in the competition at Maple Leafs camp for a fourth-line spot next season. With so much money tied up at the top of the roster, Toronto has to use inexpensive options at the bottom.

Snapshots: Chayka, Ryan, Ceci

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There’s a new Chayka in the news. No, not John Chayka the former Arizona Coyotes executive that left his position earlier this summer, but Daniil Chayka, one of the top prospects for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 17-year-old Russian forward will be heading home to continue his development, signing with the CSKA organization for the 2020-21 season.

Chayka was the seventh overall pick in the 2018 OHL draft after playing a year in the GTHL and has spent the last two seasons with the Guelph Storm. He won gold at the most recent Hlinka-Gretzky Cup with Russia and had 34 points in 56 games for Guelph this season.

  • Speaking of heading home, Bobby Ryan recently spoke on the possibility of playing for the Philadelphia Flyers now that he is an unrestricted free agent. The Cherry Hill, New Jersey native told NBC Sports that he’d basically take any chance to play for the team he grew up cheering for, saying “if the Flyers were to make an offer or extend a camp invite, they’d move high on my list because of all the connections.” Ryan has already drawn interest from other teams after seeing the final year of his contract with the Ottawa Senators bought out last week.
  • Cody Ceci won’t be returning to the Toronto Maple Leafs next season, at least not until he checks out the free agent market. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that Ceci will become an unrestricted free agent on October 9 when the market opens, though does suggest that he could circle back to the Maple Leafs eventually.

Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Paul MacLean

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have added another familiar name to their coaching staff, hiring Paul MacLean as an assistant today. MacLean most recently served as an assistant on the Columbus Blue Jackets bench, but is coming back to Ontario where he was head coach of the Ottawa Senators for four seasons.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe released a statement on his new staff member:

Over nearly two decades as an NHL coach, Paul has filled every role on a coaching staff, winning a Stanley Cup and Jack Adams trophy along the way. Adding someone of Paul’s expertise and character to advise and assist our staff is something that we felt was very important as we seek to make tangible steps next season.

Ironically enough, MacLean actually served for several years in Detroit and Anaheim under former Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock, who Keefe replaced last season. He has also worked with Bruce Boudreau in Anaheim, another name that was rumored to be in the mix for the Toronto staff. Instead, he’ll be the one joining Keefe, incumbent assistant Dave Hakstol and newcomer Manny Malhotra in Toronto.

MacLean is expected to be the “eye-in-the-sky” for the Maple Leafs according to Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, the role that Malhotra held for the Vancouver Canucks before coming to Toronto. In his only time as a head coach, MacLean actually took the Senators to the playoffs twice, posting a 114-90-35 record with the team. He took home the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year in 2013. He was also a star player in his day, recording 324 goals and 673 points in 719 career NHL games.

If you are wondering what kind of relationship MacLean and Keefe will have given the former’s experience as an NHL head coach, remember that Keefe’s long-time minor league and junior assistant A.J. MacLean is Paul’s son.

Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Manny Malhotra

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The Toronto Maple Leafs lost an assistant coach earlier this year when Paul McFarland decided to return to the OHL and take a job running the Kingston Frontenacs, but have found his replacement. The Maple Leafs have hired Manny Malhotra, who has spent the last few seasons working with the Vancouver Canucks. Head coach Sheldon Keefe released a statement on his new assistant:

The work ethic, character, intelligence and attention to detail that made Manny the ultimate teammate when he played are all assets that have translated to his coaching. That, combined with his charisma and communication skills, make us really excited to have him join the organization. On behalf of the Leafs, I’d like to thank Travis Green, Jim Benning and the Canucks organization for the opportunity to speak with Manny.

Malhotra, a veteran of more than 1,000 NHL games, is still relatively new to the coaching world having just retired from playing in 2016. The 40-year-old scored just 295 points in the NHL but was a hard-nosed checking center that was always among the leaders in faceoff percentage. He received votes for the Selke Trophy on many occasions, even finishing fifth in 2011.

He was hired by the Canucks in 2017 as a development coach, meaning his move to Toronto will actually be a step up and takes him a little closer to being an NHL head coach. It comes with the added benefit of a homecoming, given Malhotra is from Mississauga, just outside of Toronto.

David Singh of Sportsnet did a long feature on Malhotra earlier this summer, noting that “several people within the industry peg him as a rising star in the coaching ranks” but that he would also need some time behind the bench as an assistant at some point. That time appears to be now with the Maple Leafs.

Toronto had been linked to several other names around the league, including former Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau, but according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic decided to go with Malhotra instead. Rocky Thompson, another coach they spoke with, is likely heading to the San Jose Sharks to join Bob Boughner’s staff.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet broke the news on Twitter. 

Kyle Clifford To Test Free Agency

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Just yesterday we profiled the Toronto Maple Leafs free agent situation, and our Brian La Rose wrote this in regards to pending UFA Kyle Clifford:

There’s mutual interest in a new contract but it’s worth noting that Los Angeles paid down half of his $1.6MM price tag in the move.  If Clifford wants a similar contract – and he should be able to get that even in a depressed market – he will almost certainly price himself out of the range that the Maple Leafs can afford to pay.

The suggestion that Clifford will be a bit too pricey for the Maple Leafs has been confirmed today, as his agent told Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun that Clifford will test the open market. Not only will the 29-year-old forward be looking for more than the Maple Leafs can likely pay a fourth-line forward (that is, the league minimum), but his re-signing was also tied to a draft pick condition from his trade in February. Had the Maple Leafs re-signed Clifford, the 2021 third-round pick they surrendered in the trade with the Los Angeles Kings would be upgraded to a 2021 second-round selection.

It’s easy to see Clifford as just a forgettable depth forward after the Maple Leafs used him so sparingly, but it’s also important to remember that he has two Stanley Cup championships with the Kings and actually scored 11 goals in 2018-19 despite averaging just over ten minutes of ice time a night. The physical forward can skate well enough to keep up with today’s game and has actually helped drive strong possession numbers at times.

While he won’t be jumping into any team’s top-six next season, it makes sense that Clifford and his representatives want to test the open market to see what kind of contract he can secure. Coming off a five-year $8MM deal with the Kings, it will be interesting to see if he can land close to that $1.6MM AAV on his next deal.

For the Maple Leafs, letting Clifford reach free agency always seemed like the likely outcome because of the pick condition, but the team also has some other players pushing for roster spots. Top prospect Nicholas Robertson came in and showed off some of his skill in the postseason, while older forwards like Alexander Barabanov, Egor Korshkov, and Adam Brooks will all be in the mix for NHL roster spots. There’s also free agent Jason Spezza, who has indicated his desire to return to the team next season and newcomer Evan Rodrigues who is a restricted free agent but could work out a deal with the team as a bottom-six option.

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