Toronto Maple Leafs Are Not Done Yet
By Justin Cait
It’s been a busy offseason for GM Lou Lamoriello and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Between attempting to trade for a right-handed defenseman (RD) in midst of the two drafts, re-signing various key players and the blockbuster acquisition of Patrick Marleau, Leafs management have made headlines this summer.
The latest, being the 4-year, $9 million extension of Zach Hyman, brings Toronto’s total contracts to 48 of a maximum of 50 players. And shortly, the Leafs will announce the signing of their 49th contract in Connor Brown.
Although Lamoriello & Co. have been adamant that he and his staff are “extremely happy going into camp with this roster”, something tells me that The Godfather has a few more tricks up his sleeve.
Cap situation
At about $78.9 million in current cap space and the ability to spend 10 percent over the cap –$82.5 million (if my journalism student-calculations are correct) — before the season starts, the Maple Leafs still have limited leeway in terms of cap space.
Estranged forwards Joffrey Lupul and Nathan Horton (who is actually seriously injured) would regularly make a combined $10.55 million.
But both contracts will essentially count as nothing toward the cap once placed on LTIR (long term injury reserve).
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Combine that with the potential of future castaways to the ‘Island’ — cough, cough Eric Fehr and Alexey Marchenko (if unclaimed on waivers) — and the Leafs are basically A-OK.
In this hypothetical situation in which both Fehr and Marchenko are buried in the minors, the Leafs cap situation entering the season comes out to about $70.4 million, according to capfriendly.com.
The cap is not a problem moving into 2017-18, but the amount of contracts are a different story.
Contracts situation
On the opening day of training camp in 2015, the Maple Leafs acquired Michael Grabner from the New York Islanders in exchange for five prospects.
Yes, a five-for-one deal for Grabner.
But why? Simply due to a surplus in contracts.
Those five players included prospects Carter Verhaeghe, Matt Finn and Tom Nilsson, forward Taylor Beck and goalie Chris Gibson.
Assuming the Toronto Maple Leafs keep James van Riemsdyk (we’ll get to that later), a deal similar to this — in the sense of shedding excess contracts — wouldn’t be surprising to see in the near future,
Nevertheless, this isn’t the only way the Leafs can find a way to open up crucial roster spots.
Trade situations
The way I see it, the Maple Leafs have three options via trade.
1. Keep pushing for that quality RD, inevitably giving up JVR.
With the signing of Marleau, rumors surrounding trading van Riemsdyk have become even more prevalent as of late.
The hypothetical trade would look something like this:
JVR and a quality prospect, or two (ie: Leivo, Kapanen, Rychel, Lindberg, etc.) for the long-awaited No.1 RD.
The trade would fill a need at the blue line, but also open up a spot (or two) on the wing
2. A deal similar to the Grabner trade mentioned above.
Who would be involved and at what return? Probably extra players (ie: Fehr, Marchenko, Rychel, Lindberg, Soshnikov, etc.) in exchange for either a draft pick(s) or a mid-level prospect.
This trade would hypothetically come at a similar time as the Grabner trade; around training camp once it becomes more clear as to who has made the team and who has not.
3. Free up some cap space for the future, while subsequently dropping a contract or two.
This scenario would be the most out-of-the-box of the options, but a very smart move.
As noted by The Athletic’s James Mirtle, if any team exceeds the cap with their players on LTIR, performance bonuses will be added to the following season’s cap hit as a penalty.
By moving one of Lupul or Horton (it will be Lupul, since he has a higher chance of being able to play), Toronto will be closer to totally under the salary cap, avoiding further penalties moving forward.
Add in a player that makes a decent amount of money and may struggle to find a roster spot (maybe, Fehr, Marincin, Marchenko or even Komarov) and that’s an additional contract gone.
But no team will take on Lupul and a burned player alone. There needs to be incentive.
This is where the shedding of a contract comes in.
Using the Dave Bolland-to-Arizona trade as an example, a sweetener (aka a prospect or two) will have to be included as well.
According to capfriendly.com, the three teams that need to reach the cap floor are Arizona, Nashville and New Jersey. Not far behind are Buffalo, Carolina and Edmonton.
By sending Lupul, a prospect (ie: Soshnikov, Rychel, Timashov or even Kapanen) and possibly a player like Fehr or Marincin, you save cap for the future while also creating an extra roster spot or two.
Bottom Line
Even though Lamoriello says he’s happy with this group, I’ve got a hunch the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t done.
Can this team compete as is? Most definitely.
The core is undoubtedly in place, but there is a serious possibility that there are more moves to be made.
The Toronto Star’s Kevin McGran may have best captured the current situation from head coach Mike Babcock’s eyes, in a quote after the Marleau signing.
“Babcock brought up Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk and Leo Komarov.
Sage words from the Coach. It will be interesting to see what happens next with the Toronto Maple Leafs.