Rumored Vegas Golden Knights Expansion Selections
The Vegas Golden Knights will reveal their expansion selections at tonight’s NHL Awards show, but details have started to come in on who each team will lose. There are many rumors floating around, but these are the most reputable. As with anything, nothing is final until the actual selections are announced tonight. This page will be updated with new information as it comes in.
Here are the latest rumored selections along with their source:
Anaheim Ducks: Clayton Stoner — Bob McKenzie of TSN
Arizona Coyotes:
Boston Bruins: Colin Miller — Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet
Buffalo Sabres: William Carrier — Frank Seravalli of TSN
Calgary Flames: Deryk Engelland — John Shannon of Sportsnet
Carolina Hurricanes:
Chicago Blackhawks: Trevor van Riemsdyk — Frank Seravalli of TSN
Colorado Avalanche:
Columbus Blue Jackets: William Karlsson — Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch
Dallas Stars: Cody Eakin — Jim Toth of TSN
Detroit Red Wings: Tomas Nosek — Craig Custance of The Athletic.
Edmonton Oilers: Griffin Reinhart — John Shannon of Sportsnet
Florida Panthers: Jon Marchessault — Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet
Los Angeles Kings: Brayden McNabb — John Shannon of Sportsnet
Minnesota Wild: Erik Haula — Michael Russo of the Star Tribune
Montreal Canadiens: Alexei Emelin — Eric Engels of Sportsnet
Nashville Predators: James Neal — Bob McKenzie of TSN
New Jersey Devils: Jon Merrill — Frank Seravalli of TSN
New York Islanders: Jean-Francois Berube — Bob McKenzie of TSN
New York Rangers: Oscar Lindberg — Larry Brooks of the New York Post and Frank Seravalli of TSN.
Ottawa Senators: Marc Methot — Pierre LeBrun of TSN
Philadelphia Flyers: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — Craig Custance of The Athletic
Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre Fleury – Bob McKenzie of TSN
San Jose Sharks: David Schlemko — Pierre LeBrun of TSN
St. Louis Blues: David Perron — James Mirtle of The Athletic
Tampa Bay Lightning:
Toronto Maple Leafs: Brendan Leipsic — Darren Dreger of TSN
Vancouver Canucks:
Washington Capitals: Nate Schmidt — Pierre LeBrun of TSN
Winnipeg Jets:
Toronto Maple Leafs Discussing Trade With Vegas
As teased in our earlier article about George McPhee‘s confirmation that he and the Vegas Golden Knights already have at least six trades completed, is that the Toronto Maple Leafs are also still in discussions with the club. As Frank Seravalli of TSN notes in his latest piece, Toronto GM Lou Lamoriello was affected by travel issues and was given more time from McPhee to negotiate a deal with Vegas.
Though the Maple Leafs aren’t likely to need to dump salary or protect extra players—Joffery Lupul or Nathan Horton‘s contracts could be moved for more cap space this summer, but it’s not imperative that the team do so—they could be on the prowl for one of the extra defensemen that Vegas will pick tomorrow. Seravalli notes Mathew Dumba, Colin Miller, Sami Vatanen and Marc Methot in his column but there are obviously many more. 
In our mock expansion draft, we had the Golden Knights picking ten defensemen from around the league and while it’s still unclear how the already completed trades could affect these names, it’s a list that would draw wide interest from the Maple Leafs. While Brayden McNabb and Nate Schmidt are both left-handed and would likely have to slot in behind Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner, they are both young enough to fit into the Leafs’ competitive window and would offer upgrades on Matt Hunwick and Martin Marincin, the duo most often deployed in that third pairing LHD spot last season.
The most interesting name though may be Trevor van Riemsdyk, young brother of Maple Leafs’ forward James van Riemsdyk and expected expansion casualty from the Chicago Blackhawks. The younger van Riemsdyk is only 25, right-handed and has begun to show a capability beyond his beginnings as an NCAA free agent.
In any case, there should be many names available to the Maple Leafs if the Golden Knights are looking to flip contracts after the draft. With several exciting prospects still in the Leafs system and a glut of young players already fighting for jobs at the NHL level, they could afford to move out a couple in any deal. It will be interesting to see what kind of dealing they have planned with the expansion franchise, if any at all.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Atlantic Division Offers Scoring, Depth Players
The Atlantic Division was arguably the weakest in the league, but Vegas should be happy to know that they can claim two previous 30-goal scorers from the group. Some teams offer very little, such as Buffalo, because of their lack of depth, and Toronto, because of good planning. But others, such as Montreal and Detroit, will provide interesting options at multiple positions.
The Boston Bruins have one of the weakest lists of the lot, but there are still a few names which could help the Golden Knights organization. Vegas could opt for the overpaid but serviceable Matt Beleskey in hopes of his return to form as a solid 3rd-line piece. They might instead select a defenseman, either the puck possession defender in Colin Miller or physical presence in Adam McQuaid – but there may be better defenseman available elsewhere. A very probable scenario is that they opt for a project player in defenseman Joe Morrow or goalie Malcolm Subban. The Toronto Maple Leafs probably released one of the best lists today. Veteran Brooks Laich is an option, but McPhee may opt for 25 year-old Martin Marincin in hopes that he can build upon his last two seasons. Neither loss would impact the team’s ascendance in the slightest. Something to keep an eye out for is the perennially injured Joffrey Lupul – it’s certainly possible GM Lou Lamoriello will use Vegas to take his contract off the books. It wouldn’t take much of a sweetener.
The Montreal Canadiens left veteran defenseman Alexei Emelin exposed, which some predicted – but it could still set their defense back in the short-term. GM Marc Bergevin did well to utilize that final forward protection spot, trading for Jonathan Drouin and locking him up long-term. A potential player to watch is Alexander Radulov and whether Vegas will pursue the unrestricted free agent in the next few days. They do have a head-start, and he would be a potent addition. The Detroit Red Wings made what I consider to be a very surprising move in exposing goalie Petr Mrazek over Jimmy Howard. It could pay dividends if Vegas opts to go in a different goaltending direction, but it seems quite likely they will go the best player available route. Xavier Ouellet is also left exposed, which could decimate their defensive hopes. Unfortunately for Wings fans, Ken Holland very well will pay extortion-level prices for not being more aggressive in the trade market when he had the opportunity.
The Ottawa Senators will contribute one of the top three players to Vegas, regardless of his very hefty $7 MM contract. Bobby Ryan is bound for Nevada unless something unforeseen happens – he’s a former 30 goal scorer, is coming off a hot playoff, and an overpaid contract won’t break this team off the start. They could opt to speak with Mike Condon or go the less expensive route and take the veteran Marc Methot, but neither seems likely. Losing Ryan might hurt the Senators’ depth in the short term but is a solid cap-centric decision. The Buffalo Sabres will not lose much at all. Vegas could take a chance on the surprisingly available young forward William Carrier, or claim an average defenseman in Josh Gorges or Zach Bogosian. Vegas fans who were banking on a Tyler Ennis jersey will have to re-think their potential first purchase.
The Florida teams took completely different approaches to their expansion lists, and its clear that Tampa took the wiser route. Although they lost Jonathan Drouin, they re-couped a solid defenseman and made certain they didn’t lose an asset for nothing. Instead of losing Vladislav Namestnikov, they will instead look to probably surrender one of Cedric Paquette or J.T. Brown. There are a lot of mid-tier options available for Vegas, and I wouldn’t count out Cory Conacher as a darkhorse UFA signing considering his dominant performance in the Calder Cup playoffs. The Florida Panthers produced an inexcusably bad list. They will almost certainly lose their top scorer by not protecting the undersized Jonathan Marchessault. He had a breakout season with 30 goals in 75 games and his loss up front could really sting next season. Also of note is the decision to leave Roberto Luongo unprotected, although nothing likely will come of it.
Ultimately, the Atlantic division has a few players that will provide offensive punch to the Golden Knights, and a couple interesting decisions. McPhee could opt for safer veteran options, or take some gambles – only time will tell.
The original article had mistakenly replaced Collin Miller’s name on the protection list with Kevan Miller.
Morning Notes: Doughty, Portland, Granato
Start your engines Toronto Maple Leafs fans, because the speculative signings are about to get crazy. Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was on TSN 1050 radio today and dropped a quote that will be shared all over the internet:
I think all of us Southern Ontario players, we secretly want to play for the Leafs, you know, we all have that kind of soft spot.
Doughty would go on to explain that he’s not sure how he would react to being that big of a “celebrity” in the city and said that’s the issue a lot of players have when deciding whether to sign with Toronto. Doughty of course plays in Los Angeles where he’s a small fish, but would become a megastar should he ever return to Ontario. The 27-year old defenseman has two years remaining on his current contract, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.
- The people of Portland, Maine will be getting a professional hockey team soon enough, as the parent company of the Philadelphia Flyers has purchased the defunct Alaska Aces of the ECHL and will move them to the northeastern city according to Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post. The team is still unnamed and will hope to have an NHL affiliation before long.
- Don Granato will indeed join the Chicago Blackhawks coaching staff for the upcoming season, working with Joel Quenneville and the also-announced Ulf Samuelsson among others. It was reported last week that Granato was in the running for an assistant coaching job, after working with the University of Wisconsin this season.
- Shelley Anderson spoke to the Pittsburgh Penguins today as they cleaned out their lockers, and shared a ton of interesting information. Not the least of which was that Matt Murray’s injury sustained in the warm up of game 1 of the playoffs was a torn hamstring, making it impossible for him to play through it.
- Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion is looking at all options when it comes to the draft, willing to move up or down in the first round according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. Ottawa currently holds the 28th overall pick, but could potentially deal it for the right addition to their squad after going deep into the playoffs this season. With Erik Karlsson only under contract for another two seasons, they may feel pressure to go after a Cup run right now.
Offseason Keys: Toronto Maple Leafs
While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Most teams that are eliminated in the first round would say their season was a disappointment. Although that was the end result for the Maple Leafs, there is plenty of optimism for next year and beyond as their core nucleus of youngsters made a very positive impression this season. The timetable has moved forward somewhat and GM Lou Lamoriello will be looking to add pieces to help the team take the next step. Here are some of Toronto’s keys for the summer.
Free Up More Summer Cap Space
While the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander are all still on cheap rookie contracts, the majority of bonuses that they hit this past season will carry over and count against the cap in 2017-18. The early indication is that their overage charge will be a little more than $5MM.
On top of that, they will also have to deal with their long-term injured players coming back onto the cap for the summer. While Joffrey Lupul and Nathan Horton were on LTIR last year, that doesn’t exist in the summer and teams are limited to exceeding the salary cap by no more than 10% throughout the offseason.
Between their committed contracts and expected bonus overage, Toronto already has $67MM committed to 19 players for next season with the salary cap not expected to change much from the $73MM it was last season. (Note that Horton and Lupul are included in that calculation.) If the Leafs want to re-sign their free agents and make a splash on the open market, it’s going to be a tighter squeeze in July than it might appear at first glance. They’ll be in fine shape when next season gets underway and LTIR becomes an option once again but if Lamoriello can shed some money before July, they’ll be in much better shape for free agency.
Add Defensive Help
Scoring goals wasn’t an issue for the Leafs this year and it’s not likely to be much of one for the foreseeable future. Despite improved goalie play from Frederik Andersen this season, keeping pucks out of their own net was still a concern and projects to be one moving forward as well.
With Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, and Nikita Zaitsev, Toronto has a group of quality players to work with but none of them are a true shut-down defender. Finding one of those players that can handle a top four role would go a long way towards rounding out their back end. However, the free agent market is limited so the trade route may wind up being the way to go.
They also face a decision when it comes to their third pairing as both Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak are unrestricted free agents and aren’t likely to return. Are they content with the likes of Alexey Marchenko and Martin Marincin (plus their prospects) to manage the bottom three spots on the depth chart or will they try to seek upgrades there as well? If it’s the latter, they should be able to get that help via the free agent market.
Extension Decisions
A pair of key forwards are set to enter their walk years in Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk (plus Leo Komarov as well). Knowing that their ‘big three’ up front will be needing second contracts before too long (Nylander is now a year from restricted free agency), Lamoriello will need to decide whether he can afford to keep one or both of them long-term and whether the time is right to potentially pursue an extension.
Both players will likely be getting raises on their next deals. Bozak has a cap hit of $4.2MM while van Riemsdyk checks in at $4.25MM, solid value for players that recorded 55 and 62 points respectively this past season.
If Lamoriello decides not to try to keep them around, the next decision will be whether or not to trade them with the idea of getting something now instead of potentially losing them for nothing later. Going that route would have been easier had Toronto not made the playoffs and potentially accelerated the timetable this year. As the Leafs are now viewed as a playoff threat, it would be hard for them to take a step back by dealing one or both of the veterans without getting comparable talent in return. Even if they can’t agree on extension terms this summer, it’s hard to imagine both players not being back at least to start next season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Leafs Notes: Kovalchuk, Nylander, Van Riemsdyk
Howard Berger praised Leafs’ management and their willingness to “think outside the box” with regards to player movement in a recent article. He revisits the Ilya Kovalchuk speculation and the article does beg the question of whether the Leafs were (or are) seriously interested. They do have a bit of cap room to play with, and are undoubtedly a team on the rise. Without taking a massive paycut, and with the New York area teams reportedly backing away, it does limit Kovalchuk’s potential landing spots were he to make an NHL return. A long-term deal would almost certainly be out of the question, but he could provide a noticeable veteran presence up front and would immediately catapult the Leafs into a dominant offensive team. With youngsters Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Auston Matthews all looking to build upon their immensely successful season, the grizzled Kovalchuk could serve as a stabilizing mentor.
- Also mentioned in the article is potentiality of trading Nylander going forward. Berger cites the Chicago Blackhawks model of 3 core players – 2 forwards and 1 defenseman (Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith) – as what GM Lou Lamoriello should seek to mimic. The core of Marner, Nylander, and Matthews needs a solidifying defensive force to round out the group (so the theory goes) and Berger believes Nylander is the weakest of the three. This would certainly be “outside the box”, but there is little logic in forfeiting an explosive talent up front merely because of contract concerns, at least at this early stage. As the Pittsburgh Penguins are proving this off-season, a solid group of defenseman is enough to overcome the absence of a marquee name.
- In spite of all the smoke that constantly surrounds the Maple Leafs in their hockey-crazed media market, management has been relatively conservative in their rebuilding approach. It seems unlikely that Toronto will make a massive transaction and will instead quietly build upon last season’s advances. Although they have been known to venture outside the league for help (Nikita Zaitsev, Leo Komarov), Kovalchuk will likely require too much money and term. If the team were to trade a forward for defensive help, it would almost certainly be a non-core piece at or near the age of 30. Komarov is likely too integral to the team’s leadership and mentality to be shipped off for anything short of an overpayment. Fellow 2018 UFAs Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk are the obvious candidates for movement, with van Reimsdyk more likely to attract attention due to his greater goal-scoring prowess.
Teams “Lining Up” For Sami Vatanen
Amid several pieces of information in the latest edition of Insider Trading on TSN, Pierre LeBrun reported that teams are “lining up” with interest for Sami Vatanen hoping Anaheim Ducks are indeed going to trade him to solve some of their expansion problems. LeBrun mentions the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning in particular.
The Ducks have a real crunch on defense that has been examined multiple times this season. Interestingly, they have several young players—Brandon Montour, Shea Theodore and Jacob Larsson in particular—who could step into any holes created by a trade of Vatanen or another defenseman. The team will need to find a trade somewhere, as Vegas would be hard to convince to take someone other than whichever defenseman ends up exposed. Watching Vatanen or Josh Manson be shipped off to Sin City for nothing would be painful for a team who fancies themselves a real contender for the Stanley Cup. 
All of that is to say that Vatanen remains a real trade candidate this month, and it comes as no surprise that he has suitors all over the league. After another season with solid point totals and an average ice time number above 21 minutes, Vatanen projects as a solid addition to nearly every top-4 in the league. The fact that he is right-handed and comes with a sub-$5MM salary for multiple years makes him palatable to dozens of teams.
The three teams that LeBrun mentions are all coming off very different seasons, and demonstrate how widespread the appetite for Vatanen could be. The Maple Leafs, building on a surprisingly good season by their young stars could jump-start their contention window with a few defensive additions. With Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Carrick penciled in as the top two options on the right side, Vatanen could take on a substantial amount of responsibility.
In New Jersey, the team is still in a window when it needs to try and make the playoffs. With a core group in their prime right now, they’re not quite in a rebuild and with a few tweaks could be right back in the postseason picture. The ironic part is that they dealt a right-handed defenseman last summer for Taylor Hall, but obviously could use an upgrade to the blueline for next season.
Tampa Bay was devastated by injury last season but is expected to be a contender not only for the playoffs but the Stanley Cup again next year. With a healthy Steven Stamkos and an improved blueline, they would be among the early favorites for the Atlantic division crown once again. While Victor Hedman has turned into one of the best all-around defensemen in the league, and Anton Stralman is still an underrated possession darling, the rest of the defense has not been as good.
Even though the Ducks are in a tough spot for the expansion draft, they remain in a great spot after drafting or developing a ton of good defenders. With Cam Fowler in extension talks after an outstanding year, they can now pick and choose which other players they keep for their current window. Should they make a trade, they’ll be able to either restock a prospect cupboard that is anything but bare, or add to their NHL squad for another shot at the Stanley Cup next year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Expansion Primer: Toronto Maple Leafs
Over the next few weeks we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.
The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the 2016-17 season fresh faced and looking to start a new chapter in their long history. After ripping apart the old core by moving Phil Kessel and then Dion Phaneuf in blockbuster trades, the team had finished last and acquired the prize they’d hoped for: Auston Matthews. Adding Matthews to an incredibly young group resulted in success for the franchise, squeaking in the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Though they were eliminated by the Washington Capitals in six games, not many Toronto fans were upset with the outcome. The teenaged-success of Matthews and Mitch Marner had revitalized their hopes and they head into this summer as legitimate contenders for the playoffs once again. Because of their reliance on youth, the expansion draft doesn’t pose as big of a problem for them as some other teams.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards:
Joffrey Lupul, Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, Matt Martin, Eric Fehr, Kerby Rychel, Ben Smith, Josh Leivo, Connor Brown, Seth Griffith, Brendan Leipsic
Defensemen:
Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, Alexey Marchenko, Martin Marincin, Connor Carrick
Goaltenders:
Frederik Andersen, Antoine Bibeau, Garret Sparks
Notable Exemptions
Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Zach Hyman, Nikita Soshnikov, Kasperi Kapanen, Nikita Zaitsev, Calle Rosen, Nathan Horton
Key Decisions
With most of their prized assets exempt already from the draft, Brendan Shanahan and Lou Lamoriello were able to easily prepare for the draft during the season. They accepted Eric Fehr from the Pittsburgh Penguins at the deadline, and re-signed Ben Smith to a minimum salary deal in order to fulfill the forward exposure requirements, and can easily go with the 7-3-1 protection scheme in order to limit Vegas’ selection. 
Up front, the Leafs have a few obvious choices like Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. Each of those three set career highs in points this season, and hold value either to the team long-term (Kadri) or on the trade market this summer and next year. Past that, the team will likely hold onto Leo Komarov for his defensive ability and Connor Brown as the oft-forgotten rookie who also scored 20-goals this season. That leaves them with two spots and a few decisions to make.
Out of the rest of the forwards, Matt Martin has the best case for protection after signing a four-year pact with the team and playing in all 82 contests. Head coach Mike Babcock has spoken quite highly of his leadership and role on the team, and after leading all NHL forwards in hits for the sixth consecutive season means more to them than just his offensive production (or lack thereof). After that, a decision between Kerby Rychel, Josh Leivo or Brendan Leipsic will likely round out the list and leave two players as possibilities for Vegas.
Rychel was acquired by the Leafs last offseason in exchange for Scott Harrington, and is a former first-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets. After a slow start, he finished with 52 points in the AHL and will look to try and crack the roster next year if he’s still in Toronto. Leivo spent most of the season in the press box, contributing whenever he could get himself into the lineup. With 10 points in 13 games, he showed that he could contribute offensively. If selected by Vegas he—or Leipsic, who was a point-per-game player in the AHL this season—could figure into their top six, as skilled forwards will be hard to find for the expansion club.
On defense, three slots should be enough as Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner and Connor Carrick are the only ones with any real future in Toronto. Both Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak are free agents, while Alexey Marchenko and Martin Marincin played rarely for the club even when healthy. On that note, the Leafs could theoretically acquire another defender before the draft and leave Carrick (or several forwards) exposed.
In net Frederik Andersen is a virtual guarantee, as neither of the younger goaltenders warrant any thought. Bibeau and Sparks have both had up-and-down careers so far, and neither project to be of interest to Vegas.
Among their trade deadline acquisitions was Brian Boyle, who could be of some interest to Vegas in the exclusive negotiation window. The Golden Knights will have a chance to talk to free agents, and Boyle would be a solid addition to their forward group and likely a better option than any other Maple Leaf. Boyle has always seemed interested in heading back to Tampa Bay in the offseason though, where his wife and newborn baby still reside. Other than that, the free agents don’t hold much interest for the young Golden Knight franchise.
The team doesn’t have to worry about any no-movement clauses, as Horton’s is the only one held by players under contract. Because of his degenerative back injury that will keep him from playing ever again, he was included on the list of injury-exempt players alongside the man who was traded for him, David Clarkson.
It’s interesting to note that while Nathan Horton appears on the exempt list due to injury, Joffrey Lupul does not. Lupul hasn’t played in the NHL since partway through the 2015-16 season but maintains that he would like to play again at some point. He’s under contract for another year, and seems no closer to seeing the ice in Toronto as the day he was banished to “Robidas Island”, a fictional place that Lamoriello sends players he no longer wants to be around the team due to their “injury”.
Projected Protection List
F Nazem Kadri
F James van Riemsdyk
F Tyler Bozak
F Leo Komarov
F Matt Martin
F Connor Brown
F Kerby Rychel
D Morgan Rielly
D Jake Gardiner
D Connor Carrick
Toronto isn’t in bad shape when it comes to the draft, but there has been chatter since he was acquired that the team has already worked out a deal with Vegas to take Fehr off their hands. Though he’s hardly expensive, his $2MM cap-hit could be better spent by the Maple Leafs who will have bonus overages to deal with this summer. Remember, that even though Lupul and Horton’s cap-hits can be put on long-term injured reserve and not count towards the cap during the season, they do affect it during the summer. A team can only go over the cap by 10% at any time during the offseason, making the Leafs’ salary cap situation tighter than you’d think.
The Maple Leafs have also been rumored in relation to basically every defenseman that may be on the market this summer, and though it’s most likely they would wait until after the expansion draft to acquire one the possibility does still exist that they’d snatch one up off a team with protection issues going into the draft. Either way, they’ll be a team to watch over the next few weeks as they’re bound to be involved in many of the trade talks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Latest On Ilya Kovalchuk And The Toronto Maple Leafs
The saga of Ilya Kovalchuk continued this weekend when a report by Larry Brooks of the New York Post stirred up a few fan bases. Brooks listed St. Louis, San Jose and Toronto along with New York in pursuit of the Russian sniper, and today added that Columbus had thrown their hat into the ring. While each of those teams have interesting connections with Kovalchuk in the past, Darren Dreger was on TSN radio in Toronto this morning to dispel speculation about at least one market.
I don’t believe the Maple Leafs are interested. I saw the reports, and did my work in digging through my Maple Leafs sources and I was told that ‘it’s BS’.
I think that Kovalchuk is interested in returning to the NHL, but part of me also wonders if he’s just not trying to ratchet up some leverage to stay in the KHL. But I believe that given the right situation, right contract that yes he’d come back to the NHL.
The connection to the Maple Leafs did seem tenuous at best, seeming to only hinge on the familiarity between Toronto GM Lou Lamoriello and Kovalchuk from their days in New Jersey. While it’s not clear where that relationship stands after years apart, the Maple Leafs have repeatedly said that they aren’t going to deviate from their plan to slowly build into a contender. If Kovalchuk was looking for anything more than a two-year contract, the Maple Leafs would run into some financial issues as Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner all come up for new contracts.
The 34-year old Kovalchuk scored 32 goals and 78 points in the KHL this season and from all accounts still has much to offer an NHL team looking for scoring help. The idea that he is a 30-goal, top line winger is debatable and as Dreger puts it “if he’s not scoring 25 or more, is it going to be worth it?” The answer to that question will be answered in the coming months as his current negotiations come to an end. Next summer, when Kovalchuk would become an unrestricted free agent at age-35 and won’t require an interested team to give up an asset to the New Jersey Devils may be a better time for many teams to get involved.
The Weakest Position In Free Agency
One of the big discussions going around the hockey world this week has been whether or not a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs should take a chance on an offer sheet for restricted free agent defenseman Colton Parayko. The offer sheet strategy, while allowed by the NHL collective bargaining agreement, is generally frowned upon in the sport. There is an unwritten code that you don’t poach other teams’ young talent. Those who do often pay the price by having their own prospects come under fire. There is also an actual price to pay for the practice, as offer sheets come with a steep compensatory formula. The 2017 compensation levels, just recently announced, dictate that a team would owe a third-round pick for a contract not even worth $2MM annually, while a contract north of $4MM per year would cost a first-rounder plus.
So why would a team like the Leafs entertain going after Parayko? And if they’re going to face the risk of an offer sheet, why Parayko and not another defenseman like Shayne Gostisbehere or Nikita Zadorov or even star forwards like David Pastrnak or Leon Draisaitl? The reason: Parayko represents the best free agent, restricted or unrestricted, at his position – right-shot defenseman.
Calling the right-shot defenseman grouping for this years unrestricted free agency pool “weak” is an understatement. Other than Kevin Shattenkirk, Parayko’s teammate in St. Louis and possibly the biggest name on the market at any position, you would be hard-pressed to find a single top-four defenseman and only a hand full of bona fide starters altogether. Cody Franson, under-utilized in Buffalo the past two years, is likely the next man up and the painstaking wait of the 2015 off-season showed how willing teams were to meet his salary demands. Toronto specifically already has had experience with Franson and know he is not the answer to their struggles. Behind Franson comes half of the Calgary Flames 2016-17 blue line: Dennis Wideman, Deryk Engelland, and trade deadline acquisition Michael Stone. The trio played a combined 165 man-games for the Flames this season, with Engelland and Stone playing each game of their first-round sweep by the Anaheim Ducks, and combined for just 50 points. Stone has the greatest upside, but hasn’t proved himself as a reliable top-four option and has struggled with injuries. The Flames were desperate to get Wideman out of town and Engelland has become a one-dimensional player in recent years. Next, there is Roman Polak, another former Maple Leaf. The team seems to have ruled out re-signing the veteran blue-liner and other teams should follow suit. Yannick Weber, currently playing in the Stanley Cup Final with the Nashville Predators, picked a good year to be a free agent, as his effective albeit unexciting style of play should still pay off in a weak class. After Weber? Matt Tennyson from Carolina? Paul Postma from Winnipeg? That is basically it.
This is why the Parayko-to-Toronto talk will continue. Those teams in need of a right shot near the top of their defensive depth are largely out of luck in 2017. Once Shattenkirk is off the board, which should be right away on July 1st, there are slim pickings for the rest. Best wishes to whatever righty D-needy team misses out on Shattenkirk, Franson, Stone, and Weber. There are simply no options. Unless, of course, you dip into restricted free agency. Beyond Parayko, another option is Pittsburgh’s Justin Schultz,who put up a whopping 51 points in the regular season and has 11 points (and counting) in the playoffs. The Penguins would likely be unable to match an expensive contract for Schultz if he were presented with a lucrative offer sheet. After back-to-back strong campaigns, New Jersey’s Damon Severson has proven to be a legitimate offensive defenseman and could entice the right team. Jake Dotchin had a successful rookie season, but the Lightning have a world of cap problems to solve this summer and would struggle to fit an offer sheet-inflated contract for Dotchin into the mix. Finally, even if both Alex Petrovic and Mark Pysyk survive the Expansion Draft in Florida, the Panthers may simply choose one over the other if an offer sheet were involved. The options are plenty on the restricted side of free agency, but the question remains whether any teams will be bold enough to go that route.