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“Several” Teams Have Shown Interest In Corey Perry

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Multiple NHL teams have shown interest in picking up UFA veteran Corey Perry as the 2023-24 season rounds the halfway mark, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports Thursday. Per Kaplan, one unnamed team “is doing major due diligence” to determine if past workplace behavior issues exist aside from the undisclosed incident that got his contract with the Blackhawks terminated earlier this season.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed late Wednesday that Perry is eligible to sign with a team and will not face a blockade from league commissioner Gary Bettman. Perry has met with Bettman since the contract termination at the player’s request, per Friedman, and was given Bettman’s “blessing” to return. He has not yet filed a grievance with the NHLPA against his termination, and the union has until January 28 to decide if it wants to proceed with one.

The Blackhawks signed Perry, 38, to a one-year, $4MM contract after acquiring his signing rights from the Lightning in a late June trade. The capable veteran notched four goals and nine points through 16 games in Chicago before the team removed him from the lineup and eventually the roster for an incident that the team said violated the terms of his contract and organizational standards. Perry issued a statement shortly after his termination, stating he would “discuss his struggles with alcohol” with behavioral health experts.

Perry’s 0.56 points per game pace in third-line minutes in Chicago is a strong indication that he can still bring it, especially considering the lack of depth around him. That pace would be third on the Blackhawks today behind Connor Bedard’s 0.85 clip and Philipp Kurashev’s 0.68.

If Perry does get another contract to extend his career past the 1,300-game mark, it will almost surely be for the league minimum $775K. No teams have been reliably linked to Perry yet, although former Maple Leaf Carlo Colaiacovo posited on TSN 1050 radio today that there may be mutual interest between Perry and Toronto. There, he would assumedly slot in a fourth-line right-wing role and, even in his late 30s, would provide a major upgrade over declining enforcer Ryan Reaves and AHL call-up Bobby McMann. The 2007 Stanley Cup champion with the Ducks also still lives in London, Ontario, where he played his junior hockey with the Knights. It’s understandable why he would have an interest in signing without having to make a mid-season move.

Maple Leafs Recall Ilya Samsonov

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After clearing waivers early last week, Ilya Samsonov’s brief stint on the AHL roster is over. The Maple Leafs recalled last season’s starting netminder this morning, returning youngster Dennis Hildeby to AHL Toronto in a corresponding transaction.

Samsonov, 26, has had a horrid go of things this season that culminated in a minor-league assignment to work with the team’s development staff. He did not suit up in any game action for the AHL’s Marlies during his ten-day stint. To go along with a rather peculiar 5-2-6 record, Samsonov had a .862 SV% in 15 NHL games – second-worst in the league among qualified netminders only to the Hurricanes’ Antti Raanta.

Without any stats from his AHL run, it’s hard to gauge from an outside viewpoint if Samsonov is mentally ready to rebound from his struggles. There’s no doubt he’s a skilled, capable netminder. After all, he started 40 out of 82 games for Toronto last season and stopped 18 goals above expected, which was tenth in the league, per MoneyPuck. It’s also unclear whether or not the Leafs plan to play Samsonov anytime soon, as they’ve shown a willingness to ride the hot hand and start Martin Jones in back-to-back contests already once this month. The recall could be just to get Samsonov back working with the Leafs’ NHL staff as he gets closer to being deemed ready to play.

This has to be a tad disappointing for Hildeby, who didn’t see any action during his first NHL recall. After backing up Jones in four games, the monstrous 22-year-old Swede heads back to the Marlies, where he has a 2.20 GAA, .919 SV%, two shutouts, and a 7-5-3 record in 15 games this year.

Joseph Woll Back At Practice, Not Close To Return

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One of the most oft-used members of the Toronto Maple Leafs goalie carousel, Joseph Woll has found himself on the team’s injured reserve for a month, suffering from a high ankle sprain on December 8th. In some positive news for the organization, David Alter of The Hockey News reports that Woll was back on the ice this morning, although under limited movement and intensity.

To push back on the idea that Woll may be close to returning after being seen at practice, in a follow-up report, Alter indicated that Woll was still “a ways away” and that there is still no concrete timeline for his return. In the meantime, the Maple Leafs will continue to roll with the combination of Martin Jones and Dennis Hildeby, as the latter is still looking to make his NHL debut in the crease.

Fortunately for Toronto, even with the injury to Woll, and the unfortunate demise of Ilya Samsonov between the pipes, they have received incredible play from Jones, who has produced some of the better goaltending numbers across the league in the last month. Making his initial debut with the Maple Leafs on December 7th, Jones has produced a 7-3-0 record in his last 11 games, carrying a .932 save percentage in the process.

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Maple Leafs Sign William Nylander To Eight-Year Extension

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10:51 a.m.: Toronto has made the eight-year length and $92MM total value of the contract official, per a team release. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that approximately $69MM of the deal will be paid out in signing bonuses.

9:00 a.m.: The Maple Leafs have officially completed talks on an eight-year, $11.5MM average annual value extension, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Monday morning. The contract will carry a full no-movement clause in all eight seasons, running from 2024-25 to 2031-32. TSN’s Chris Johnston was the first to report the NMC inclusion earlier Monday.

Nylander, 27, is now the recipient of the largest total value contract in the Maple Leafs’ 100-plus-year history at $92MM. He will be 36 years old when his mega-deal expires in 2032, making him eligible for unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career as his prime years are assumedly winding down.

This is a landmark deal for a player who’s emerged as undoubtedly their second-most important forward this season. While superstar first-line center Auston Matthews has stolen the show with his 30 goals in just 36 games, Nylander has broken the bank in terms of points. His 21 goals and 33 assists give him 54 points on the year in 37 games, putting him on pace for 120 – shattering last season’s career-high mark of 87.

Nylander’s been viewed as a bona fide top-six winger since he finished sixth place in Calder Trophy voting in 2016-17. However, there have always been external questions surrounding the compete and consistency level of the 2014 eighth-overall pick. Most of those have been quieted in the past 12 months, with Nylander continuing to provide excellent postseason play (despite Toronto’s abbreviated playoff runs), adding in excellent possession metrics and now proving himself as a yearly threat for 40-plus goals.

The leading thought among public opinion will likely be that new GM Brad Treliving shoehorned himself by not signing Nylander to a deal last summer when discussions were reportedly in the $9MM-$10MM AAV range. However, Friedman countered that on this morning’s edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast. He believes that Nylander’s camp has been holding steadfast to a higher number since negotiations began last July, and while he couldn’t confirm that an $11.5MM AAV on an eight-year deal was Nylander’s initial ask, it was close enough to get the deal done once the Leafs arrived at that number.

It’s unlikely the Leafs were comfortable with a $1.5MM jump in value per season based on a 30-game hot streak. Advanced metrics show this run of play from Nylander could very well be sustainable over the first few seasons of the deal, however, making the team’s third $11M+ cap hit on the books next season easier to swallow.

For one, he’s shooting the puck more – likely due to an uptick in ice time this season of around a minute and a half. He’s now shown he’s able to weather more than 20 minutes per game on a routine basis, something the Leafs will rely on him to do as their bevy of high-paying contracts restricts their ability to add depth on offense. Thus, despite his career-high 47-goal pace, Nylander is shooting at a percentage right around his career average (12.9% this season compared to his 12.3% average), and at a shooting percentage lower than three out of the last four seasons. His possession numbers remain quite strong, too, including a 53.4% Corsi share and a 4% relative Corsi share at even strength this year. Put simply, his play this season warrants the box-score numbers he’s produced.

That makes it an incredibly difficult decision to consider parting with Nylander, who’s developed into a core player for Toronto in every sense of the word. He’ll have spent a decade already in the organization next summer, and he’s managed to withstand, at times, a great deal of public criticism from local media and respond with an 18-month span that’s solidified him as a top-five right wing in the league. By keeping him around long-term, the Maple Leafs will get to reap the rewards of their patience.

Whether or not the team’s current construction under the salary cap can lead to a Stanley Cup win is the most pressing question, though, a cry that will become louder with now over 50% of next season’s salary cap devoted to Nylander, Matthews, Mitch Marner and captain John Tavares. In hindsight, that may be a more important metric in assessing this deal’s value rather than Nylander’s individual production over the next eight seasons.

For now, Nylander will be one of the six highest-paid players in the league next season in terms of AAV behind Matthews ($13.25MM), Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6MM), Oilers superstar Connor McDavid ($12.5MM), Rangers winger Artemi Panarin ($11.64MM), and Penguins blueliner Erik Karlsson ($11.5MM). It’s quite lofty company for Nylander at the beginning of the contract, but his cap hit’s place in those standings will continuously drop as more eight-figure deals get inked with the impending sharp rise of the salary cap’s Upper Limit.

In signing this deal, the Maple Leafs also take the top pending unrestricted free agent of the 2024 class off the board. That title now goes to a group of first-line talents in the Eastern Conference – Penguins first-line mainstay Jake Guentzel, Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, and, amidst a breakout season on pace for 59 goals and 105 points, Panthers winger Sam Reinhart.

Nylander’s full no-movement clause will protect him from any trades, waiver placements, or future expansion drafts over the life of the deal unless he consents. It does not, however, prohibit Toronto from buying out his contract if the last seasons of the deal age poorly.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Maple Leafs Closing In On William Nylander Extension

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Jan. 8: Nylander and the Maple Leafs are indeed closing in on an eight-year, $92MM total value extension, TSN’s Darren Dreger corroborates Monday morning. There is still “some work getting done” on the deal, however, and it’s unclear whether it will become official today. Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic expects the deal to contain full no-movement protection and “favorable bonus structuring.”

Jan. 6: The Maple Leafs could announce an extension for star winger William Nylander after returning from their California road trip, potentially on Monday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on tonight’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. Per Friedman, it’s likely to be an eight-year deal carrying a stratospheric AAV of $11.5MM.

That price tag is roughly $2.5MM higher than what new Toronto GM Brad Treliving offered in the early stages of negotiations last summer. Nylander’s 43-goal, 116-point pace through 36 games has eliminated the possibility of a seven-figure cap hit, however, solidifying him as the best pending free agent available in the 2024 class.

It’s also a significant increase on the $10MM-per-season deal Nylander reportedly requested before this season began. Throughout his torrid start to the campaign, which included a franchise-record 17-game point streak, the reported cap hit on an extension began to steadily climb. With that ascent now seemingly arriving at the $11.5MM mark, Treliving won’t wait any longer to put pen to paper and keep his team’s current points leader in the organization long-term.

That contract would tie Nylander for the fifth-highest cap hit in the league beginning next season with Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson, who they have at a reduced price of $10MM through the retained salary trade that brought him there from the Sharks last summer. It also leaves Toronto with two of the top five most lucrative contracts in the league beginning in 2024 – star center Auston Matthews’ $13.25MM AAV extension will give him the highest cap hit in the league.

His performance this season seems like the real deal, and advanced metrics suggest this similar rate of production should be sustainable for a number of years as he plays out his prime. Despite his career-high goal-scoring pace, his 12% shooting percentage this season is actually less than his 12.3% career average. His two-way game has never been better, either – he’s on pace for an expected rating of +24.6, which would shatter his career-high of +18.9 set last season.

So, in a vacuum, it may be difficult to criticize the price tag given his market value as a pending UFA. However, that cap hit works out to a combined $46.6MM in spending wrapped up in Matthews, Nylander, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares next season – over 53% of the $87.5MM salary cap in 2024-25 spent on four forwards. That doesn’t include Morgan Rielly and his $7.5MM cap hit, which works out to nearly 62% of the salary cap spent on five players. With the current LTIR relief of John Klingberg, Matt Murray and Jake Muzzin all coming off the books next summer, it’ll be an extremely tight one-year squeeze until Marner’s and Tavares’ deals expire in 2025.

Assuming both Marner and Tavares stay with Toronto, the former likely won’t command a significant raise on his current $10.9MM cap hit. However, Tavares’ $11MM cap hit will likely see a multi-million dollar reduction, freeing up a notable amount of money for Treliving as the salary cap jumps to an expected value of $92MM in 2025-26.

Nylander will be 28 years old when the deal begins, and if it’s signed as reported, he’ll be 35 years old in the last season of the deal in 2031-32. Avoiding a long-term commitment to Nylander into his late 30s should help Toronto avoid some serious devaluation of the contract in the final few seasons, but even with a rising salary cap, it’s fair to expect the contract to age poorly in its seventh and eighth seasons as is the case with most long-term deals signed near the beginning of a player’s UFA eligibility.

Nonetheless, it expects to be another landmark signing for a team that’s had quite a few of them in the last decade. The ultimate question – whether or not this core can lead them to a Stanley Cup – of course remains to be seen. With Nylander posting a point per game over his last three playoff runs, however, there’s little doubt about his individual ability to perform in mid-April and beyond.

Maple Leafs Prospect Braeden Kressler Traded In OHL

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  • 21-year-old Maple Leafs center prospect Braeden Kressler is on the move in the OHL, heading from the Flint Firebirds to the Ottawa 67’s to close out his overage season. Kressler was not picked up in the 2021 NHL Draft after the OHL suspended operations that season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he earned a training camp invite with Toronto later that summer which resulted in an entry-level contract. Kressler had a disappointing post-draft season marred by injury with just 16 points in 28 games during the 2021-22 campaign, but he’s since rebounded to put up over a point per game in Flint since the beginning of last season while serving as an alternate captain. Thus far in 2023-24, Kressler has 15 goals and 37 points in 33 games, good enough to tie for the Firebirds’ lead in scoring.

Afternoon Notes: Nylander, Palat, Heiskanen

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported some updates yesterday on the William Nylander contract negotiations. Friedman believes that there is a deal to be made between Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs but that the negotiations are delicate, and both sides want to be careful moving forward. The Maple Leafs want some certainty from Nylander so they can move on and understand what they need to address going forward, as well as how much cap space they can allocate to other areas of need. For Nylander, he’s stated publicly in the past that he wants to stay in Toronto, and it doesn’t appear anything has changed.

Nylander bet on himself in the offseason as the Maple Leafs were looking to get this contract extension done for under $10MM annually. But, with Nylander on pace for career highs in both goals and assists his extension will likely be over $11MM annually. Friedman believes that the Maple Leafs are okay with this being a pricey extension, but they also understand that there are other variables Nylander has to consider other than money and term.

In other afternoon notes:

  • New Jersey Devils reporter Amanda Stein tweeted that Devils head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters this morning that Ondrej Palat will likely miss the next few games. Palat suffered a lower-body injury in practice on Tuesday and did not play Wednesday night. The 32-year-old has struggled to live up to expectations after signing a five-year $30MM deal with the Devils in July of 2022. In 84 games spread out over one and a half seasons, Palat has just 13 goals and 24 assists.
  • Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas News is reporting that Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen was not on the ice for Stars practice today after suffering a lower-body injury in last night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. Heiskanen crashed into his goalie early in the third period and left the game. There is no word yet on the severity of the injury, although TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that there is optimism that the injury is not long-term.

Matt Murray Progressing On Schedule From Hip Surgery

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  • When Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving spoke with the media yesterday, he told reporters including Postmedia’s Terry Koshan that goaltender Matt Murray is on track in his recovery from bilateral hip surgery. Treliving cautioned that he still has a long way to go but as of now, there haven’t been any setbacks.  The pending unrestricted free agent is currently on LTIR and isn’t expected to play during the regular season.

Samsonov Will Not Skate This Week With Marlies

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Having just cleared waivers yesterday, questions immediately sprouted concerning Ilya Samsonov, and how the Toronto Maple Leafs plan to deal with the struggling goaltender. Now rostered with the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic shed a bit more light on the issue this afternoon.

Speaking with the General Manager of the Maple Leafs, Brad Treliving, it does not appear that Samsonov will play nor practice with the Marlies this week, as Treliving is quoted as saying, “It’s a physical and a mental reset where can he get away from preparing for the next game and all the pressures that come with it”.

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Leafs Were Offering Up Late-Round Pick For Goalie Help

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With Ilya Samsonov’s struggles, the Maple Leafs have been among the teams that have been sniffing around the goalie market.  However, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Toronto’s foray into the market was believed to be them offering up a late-round pick – possibly a sixth-rounder – but teams were seeking a better return and preferred a prospect for even the lower-end options.  Clearly, there wasn’t anything out there to GM Brad Treliving’s liking which resulted in today’s recall of prospect Dennis Hildeby, a move that is likely only a short-term option given his inexperience.

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