Toronto Maple Leafs Free Agency 2018: Who’s Off the Market

Free Agency 2018 is starting to heat up, with the Toronto Maple Leafs still very much involved in talks.

Thanks to the week-long “legal tampering” period where teams can talk to prospective unrestricted free agents, many free agents have already committed to new contracts, including now former Toronto Maple Leafs.

With names such as John Tavares, James van Riemsdyk, James Neal, Paul Stastny, and Carter Hutton all hitting free agency, there is plenty to keep up on this July 1.

While John Tavares still hasn’t decided as to where he will be going, big-name players are already off the board.

Forwards

David Perron is headed back to St. Louis for the third time in his career, signing a four year, $16-million contract with the Blues. Perron had a breakout season with the Vegas Golden Knights, setting a career high in points with 66, despite being limited to just 70 games.

Detroit is supposed to be rebuilding, right? Well, it appears that Thomas Vanek will be returning to the Motor City on a one year, $3 million deal. Coming off of another productive season in which he scored 56 points in 80 games, Vanek will add an offensive boost to the Red Wings lineup and be a prime candidate to be traded at the deadline next season, as Vanek has been the past two seasons.

James van Riemsdyk is also heading back to his former team in the Philadelphia Flyers. You can catch the details of the signing here.

The biggest centre not named John Tavares is headed to Las Vegas. After losing to the Golden Knights in the conference finals, Paul Stastny is signing with Vegas on a three year, $19.5-million contract. Once again, Stastny opts to sign a shorter term deal in order to maximize his AAV. Stastny bolsters the Knights’ down the middle, as they add 53 points to their lineup.

Potential Maple Leafs targets Derek Ryan and Austin Czarnik are both off to Calgary, on three-year and two-year deals respectively. Ryan reunites with Bill Peters as Brad Treliving looks to create the Calgary Hurricanes, while Austin Czarnik leaves the Boston Bruins looking for a true NHL opportunity.

Additionally, Tyler Bozak is off to St. Louis on a three year, $15-million contract. You can get details of the signing here.

Defence

With John Carlson and Mike Green re-signing, the defensive free agent list is…far from appealing, to say the least.

Another player re-signing is Thomas Hickey, who is returning to the Islanders on a four year, $10-million contract. Hickey is coming off of a career-high 25 points, but the four-year term is a lot to commit to the 29-year old.

Vegas is expected to add another blueliner to the mix in Nick Holden, who will likely replace Luca Sbisa on the depth chart for the Golden Knights. Though contract details have not been reported, one would expect Holden to slot in on the Knights bottom pairing.

The defensive god known as Roman Polak is headed to the Dallas Stars, likely to replace Greg Pateryn who is off to Minnesota.

Pateryn was an option for the Leafs on the right side but didn’t really fit Toronto’s need of a top-four defender. He will fit in well on the Wild’s bottom pairing after taking tough minutes with the Stars last season.

Goalies

There was only one potential starter on the market in Carter Hutton, and he is signing with the Buffalo Sabres on a three-year contract. Hutton will form an intriguing tandem with Linus Ullmark with the Sabres, who also added Scott Wedgewood to their goaltending depth chart.

Cam Ward is headed to Chicago to back up Corey Crawford. On just a one year, $3-million contract, Ward will be leaving the Carolina Hurricanes for the first time in his career.

With Anton Khudobin replacing Kari Lehtonen in Dallas, Boston has agreed to terms with Jaroslav Halak on a two-year deal to backup Tuukka Rask. He will make $2.75-million.

Finally, Jonathan Bernier and Harri Sateri are headed to Detroit to bolster their goaltending depth. Bernier will likely split starts with Jimmy Howard, while Sateri while will start for the Grand Rapids.

As the day goes on, expect some news from the Leafs. Editor in Leaf will be your number one stop for the latest Toronto Maple Leafs news.