Toronto Maple Leafs: Nikita Zaitsev Contract Thoughts

Toronto Maple Leafs Nikita Zaitsev has impressed in his first year as an NHL pro and now it’s time to start thinking of what his new contract will be.

Nikita Zaitsev signed a one-year entry-level contract with a cap hit of $925,000 on 2 May 2016 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The highly touted defenseman has registered three goals and 29 points since his NHL debut on 12 October 2016.

His offensive upside was one of the bigger factors for teams wanting to acquire him. Now, he hasn’t produced what many thought he would as far point production goes. But, he has exceeded my expectations.

Zaitsev’s playing pretty good hockey for an NHL rookie. A rookie that’s seen parts of seven KHL seasons but, who’s counting?

Another big reason teams had so much interest in him is because he’s a right-handed shot. A staple mark in today’s hockey for defensemen to possess. Zaitsev made it known earlier in the summer leading up to his signing with the club that the Leafs were his first choice.

Restricted Free Agent v. Unrestricted Free Agent

At the end of the 2016-17 season, Zaitsev will be an RFA. Now, some may not know what an RFA is. So, I’m going to define it and take all the guess work out.

I’m also going to show the difference between an RFA and a UFA. By the way, don’t confuse UFA with UFO. That’s just a different spectrum. Man, there’s a lot of acronym’s flying around her. *UFO, flying.* And, moving on.

Disregard my question to James. It was just so I could get a definition and distinction from a verified Twitter user to include in the article. That way I’m cited the correct way and everyone’s happy. The main objective was to get an answer in 140 characters or less. Well, I can check that off my list.

He gave a perfect distinction of the two. Pretty much, an RFA is still somewhat under control of his current team and has restricted access in terms of negotiating a new contract. It’s kind of in between entry-level and UFA if you’d like to think of it that way.

That’s the best way of explaining what an RFA is without going too in-depth.

Now, a UFA has unrestricted access in terms of negotiating, meaning the player can talk to any team that has an interest in signing him after 1 July. It’s just how it sounds. Unrestricted, meaning no limit.

Here’s a good breakdown of the Toronto Maple Leafs financial situation including individual players. It shows their respected cap hits and their contract status going all the way to the end of the 2022-23 season. Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly’s contracts carry through until the end of the 2022-23 season.

Initial Contract Thoughts and Remarks

Well, the Leafs have a couple of options here. Writing Contributor from Tip of The Tower, David Morassutti points out that they could try and sign Zaitsev to a bridge deal. However, I do agree with him that a long-term deal would be more beneficial for the Leafs.

Let’s play that scenario out. If they were to go with a bridge deal of sorts, the cost would obviously be lower than a long-term extension. Roughly in the neighborhood of $3-$3.5 million per season for about two years. At least that’s where I would value him. Chances are that it’s not low enough to consider it as being the best deal available.

That makes signing him to a long-term extension more interesting and intriguing. Like I’ve said earlier, Zaitsev’s play has been impressive. He’s even captured the attention of Mike Babcock who spoke fondly of him to the Toronto Sun.

What I Think They Should Do

I think the Leafs need to sign him to a long-term deal. They have more leverage right now in terms of negotiations because he’ll be an RFA at the end of the season like I said and they have the money, for now. Zaitsev’s intention from the very start in regards to talking with NHL teams was to sign and play for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Look at the date. That was 22 January 2016, roughly four months before he actually put anything to ink. He want’s to play in Toronto. NHL players, for the most part, are in the business of winning. However, some do get swept up when it comes to money.

But, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be a cup contending team soon, mark my words. That has to be intriguing to Zaitsev.

And it’s not like they’ll be paying him anywhere north of $5 million. All I’m saying is that they should try and get a five to six-year deal done at a cap hit of around $4-$4.5 million. That’s in a perfect world, though.

Remember, he’s already 25 years old. Signing him to a five-year deal would see him right into his prime. For the kind of skill he’s capable of playing with and the amount of cap space the Leafs have, it would be a pretty good deal.

They’ll also have The Triple Trifecta – as Sportsnet refers to Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner, and William Nylander – to sign in a couple of years, which will cost the Leafs a pretty penny. Always a few different variables and angles to work out.

If the Leafs could come away with a deal like the one mentioned above, they’ll have a top four pairing defenseman playing right into the middle of his prime. It’s even better that he’s a right-handed shot.