Say, Toronto Maple Leafs and P.K. Subban in the same sentence and it sounds strange, right?
Right, the Toronto Maple Leafs will not be targeting Subban.
Keyword, not.
Or at least they shouldn’t and as a new and smart Leafs organization, chances are slim they will.
And no, the thought didn’t come to my mind naturally as it was instead brought to my attention by a reader.
So, shout out to the person with the monkey profile picture, I like it.
Moving on.
Apparently, there have been some rumors – if we want to call them that – about a possible Subban to Toronto trade.
I’m just going to put a stop to that right now.
It’s not going to happen, have you looked at his annual cap hit of $9 million?
Yes, he’s an elite defender that’s earning an elite defenders salary, something the Leafs won’t be able to afford in the coming years.
Let’s go deeper.
Leafs Future Cap Scenario
More from Editor In Leaf
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Nick Robertson Healthy and Ready
- Ryan Reaves Will Have Zero Impact on Toronto Maple Leafs
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Playing Max Domi In Top-Six a HUGE Mistake
- Top 10 Scandals in the History of the Toronto Maple Leafs
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Results from the Traverse City Prospects Tournament
Remember Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitchell Marner’s entry-level contracts are expiring soon?
Don’t they deserve big raises?
The answer is, yes.
The Leafs won’t be able to afford $9 million per year for Subban, plain and simple.
Not to mention the other players that’ll be getting pay raises and new contracts to be added between now and then for the Leafs.
I know there’s a lot of room right now, but that’s just right now.
This team will have a lot of players locked up in big contracts and I highly doubt any of them will be receiving $9 million a year.
That’s just a lot of money, folks.
In Subban’s Defense
Subban’s a polarizing player to many, yes.
However, I’m not hating because I’ve always liked him as a player and person.
He’s a great ambassador for the sport we all love.
But, like I said, he’s an elite defender that was sought after for a reason by the Nashville Predators and won’t be so easily given up.
I know he would be a great fit in Toronto, but not for that amount of money.
The Rumor
One of the quotes in the rumor article hyperlinked above literally says the following.
"It all started with Martin Leclerc from Radio-Canada (Montreal Canadien insider) stating P.K. Subban could be traded by the expansion draft. The argument behind this statement: Nashville has a dilemma with protecting defenseman, as they have four excellent blueliners in P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis."
Let’s get this straight.
- Sébastien Roy authored the rumored article and paraphrased the above quote from the original article
- Martin Leclerc authored the original article
- Roy didn’t paraphrase well
- Leclerc’s thought is ludicrous
- Grass is green
Everyone have that?
Ya, it was pretty confusing, except for that last part.
They have four good defensemen, what’s your point?
A team can protect four defensemen in the Expansion Draft.
The other two quotes in the article are null, so I’m not going to put them in.
Here, I’m regrettably linking Leclerc’s article for you viewing pleasure, but you’ll most likely have to break out Google translate.
Unless you know French, then good for you because I don’t.
As for the Predators cap situation, which might come to mind, they’re just fine, so don’t think that’s reasoning enough for a Subban trade.
It’ll cost the Leafs too much although I do think he’d be a tremendous fit, but it’s just not logical.
Plus, there’s no real or credible traction to this, quote unquote, thought.
Just day dreaming.