Toronto Maple Leafs: Every Pending UFA in the Atlantic Division

The Toronto Maple Leafs season is in pause.

We don’t know when there will be hockey again, but that won’t stop us from investigating potential free agents for the Toronto Maple Leafs to sign.

As noted yesterday “contracts remain in place until a decision from NHL brass is made about the future of the 2019-2020 season. That means the Toronto Maple Leafs will have to wait if they have eyes on a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA).”

In our four-part series, we break down a comprehensive list of each team’s pending UFAs. You can read the team-by-team listing of each UFA in the Eastern Metropolitan Division.

In part two of our series, we finish the look at the Eastern Conference by doing a deep dive into the Atlantic Division.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins had the best record in the NHL when the league went on hiatus. This might have been their year to win the Stanley Cup since they have a number of players who will be hitting free agency at season’s end.

Zdeno Chara

The Bruins have eight players with expiring contracts, five of them will be unrestricted. The most well known of the bunch is the large imposing defenseman, Zdeno Chara. He famously joined the Bruins in 2006 after the Ottawa Senators chose to keep Wade Redden instead of the Czechoslovakia native.

Chara isn’t the same player he once was. That’s not surprising after 22 years in the NHL, 14 of which were in Boston.

Now 43 years old, Chara may choose to retire instead of returning for more action. There is a good chance that if he does want to keep playing that he and the Bruins would want that hockey played in Boston.

Torey Krug

Torey Krug is the only other active Bruins defenseman that will become a UFA. He’s also another player that Boston will want to try and hang onto. His possession metrics are fantastic. Playing in all situations, Krug has a Corsi rating of 62.6 this season. That’s an impressive +15.2 relative to his team.

Krug’s AAV is $5.25 million for this year. He is sure to receive a raise on what could be a long term deal. Hitting the open market would be best for Krug to find the biggest payday. He may, however, choose to return to the only team he’s even played for in the NHL. After nine years with the Bruins, like Chara, Krug might want to re-up to stay in Beantown.

Joakim Nordström

The only Bruins forward to become a UFA is Joakim Nordström. He is a fourth-line center for the club and will probably test the market to see if a team is willing to give him a shot at an upgraded role. Nordström plays a safe game as a two-way player and as such doesn’t put many points on the board.

There is a place for Nordström in the NHL but as a depth piece, he shouldn’t be someone the Leafs chase. Nordström is currently earning an even million dollars for the year and will probably try to get a pay raise. With the cap being so tight for the Toronto Maple Leafs, they should look for an even cheaper player for their depth roles or bring back their own forwards with a small bump in pay.

Jaroslav Halák

The Bruins backup goaltender Jaroslav Halák is having a great season. Having played in 31 games, he has a 0.919 save percentage and a goals-against-average of 2.39. He will make a formidable backup for a franchise in need next year.

Kevan Miller

The last UFA on the Bruins is Kevan Miller. He is an effective right-shooting defenseman. Unfortunately, he fractured his kneecap in the 81st game of the 2018-19 season. The injury required surgery and as a result, Millar missed every game this season for rehab.

Miller may change teams next year but it will be a risk for any franchise willing to sign him. Taking a player who has spent extended time on the long-term injured reserve means that the organization is gambling that Miller could return to form.

Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres are in an interesting position going into next season. Just about every one of their forwards is set to become a free agent. 11 of their 15 forwards are on expiring contracts. Six of them will be unrestricted.

Michael Frolík

Michael Frolík is a former lottery pick. He went tenth overall to the Florida Panthers in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He has had a serious decline in his play since then. Frolík is no longer a dangerous player though he might be a fine depth piece on a roster.

Wayne Simmonds

Wayne Simmonds is often the first name uttered in a conversation about sandpaper and grit in hockey. He plays the game with a lot of heart and as such, is loved by fans and his teammates. There have been many Toronto Maple Leafs fans who would love to see the 31-year-old in Toronto. His style of play and veteran leadership might be welcome.

If that were to happen, it would mean that Kyle Clifford’s time with the Leafs would be over. Clifford was brought to the Buds to be a tough guy, much in the same way Simmonds was acquired ahead of the trade deadline by the Sabres. Though he will have suitors around the league, expect Simmonds to remain in Buffalo.

Jimmy Vesey

Jimmy Vesey is a player that the Toronto Maple Leafs attempted to recruit out of college. With his father Jim being a part of the Leafs scouting staff there was a belief that he might choose the Big Smoke. Instead, we went to the Big Apple.

Vesey never quite lived up to his hype. In 2016, while playing for Harvard, he won the Hobey Baker Award which is given to the best collegiate hockey player. He then chose not to sign with the Nashville Predators, the team that drafted him and went straight to free agency.

Now back in the position which Vesey found himself when he first entered the NHL, there is a chance that he might want to go to Toronto. Playing on the left-wing, Vesey will certainly explore his options though he no longer carries the same clout he did ahead of the 2016-17 season.

Zemgus Girgensons

The Latvian center Zemgus Girgensons is also going to be a UFA. He is a former 14th overall draft pick of the Sabres who had his best season at 21 years of age. He had 30 points that season evenly splitting his goals and assists. Since then, he hasn’t been north of 20 points. Now at age 26, he is a bottom-six forward. Girgensons isn’t someone who will make a significant impact on another club’s roster.

Johan Larsson

Johan Larsson has spent a large portion of the season playing on the fourth line with Girgensons. Much like the winger, Larsson isn’t a dominant player. He too is a depth piece that would look better on the Toronto Marlies than the Maple Leafs.

Vladimír Sobotka and Matt Hunwick

The Sabres have two players on LTIR. They are forward Vladimír Sobotka and former Maple Leafs defenseman Matt Hunwick. With both these players missing significant time with injuries and their unremarkable play prior to that, the Leafs should steer clear of them in the offseason.

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings were expected to have a fire sale leading up to this year’s trade deadline. While they did manage to move players out, they still have a number of UFAs who could potentially hit the market.

Sam Gagne

Sam Gagne is one of three Red Wings who could be exposed to other organizations. After 13 years in the NHL, his offense has dried up significantly. He’s no longer the dynamic center who played on the 2006-07 London Knights team that also included Patrick Kane, Sergei Kostitsyn, and goaltender Steve Mason.

Johan Franzén and Kyle Brodziak

The other two forwards on the Wings are Johan Franzén and Kyle Brodziak. Both players are still on the books but are listed on the LTIR which means that their contracts don’t count against the cap. The Mule hasn’t played a game since October of 2015. He played just two games and was unable to return to action.

Brodziak played a little more recently. His last games were played in the 2018-19 season where he dressed for 70 matches. Both players have been effectively retired already but once their contracts run out it will officially close the books on their NHL careers.

Jonathan Ericsson

The Detroit blue line has the potential to lose players off the roster. Jonathan Ericsson has worked his way down the depth charts in Detroit and is certainly in danger of a pay cut next season. He’s on his last year of a six-year $25.5 million dollar contract that pays him $4.25 million annually. It’s hard to imagine a team will be willing to match those figures for Ericsson this offseason.

Trevor Daley

Trevor Daley is in a very similar position as Ericsson. Daley hasn’t been able to play as competitively as he once had. His possession numbers have plummeted all the way to an even-strength Corsi rating of 40.1 this season which is -6.0 relative to his team. It’s the worst he’s ever done after 13 years in the NHL.

Cody Goloubef

Cody Goloubef is the Red Wings’ only other UFA defender. He was claimed off waivers by Detroit from the Senators three days before the trade deadline. He played just 24 games for the Sens and two for the Wings. Goloubef played the reoccurring role of “extra body”, watching many of this season’s games in the press box.

Jimmy Howard

Jimmy Howard, the goaltender who has spent his entire in Motor City, is about to see his contract come due.

He’s been stopping pucks for the Wings for 14 years. Howard was on a one year contract with an AAV of $5.1 million this year and he could very well be looking at a similar length deal for next season.

Detroit currently also has former Leafs tender Jonathan Bernier on the books until after next season.

Florida Panthers

Before the NHL season was indefinitely suspended, the Florida Panthers were in a battle with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. It appeared as though the Leafs were going to take it and push the Cats to the outside looking in.

If the Panthers don’t think that they have a postseason worthy roster, the offseason will be the opportunity to turn things over. With many players about to hit free agency, this is a good opportunity for GM Dale Tallon to make changes.

Mark Pysyk

On Florida’s current roster is hockey’s version of a utility player. Mark Pysyk has been bounced back and forth between being used as a forward and a defenseman. Head coach Joel Quenneville reduced his minutes but did give him a chance to find other uses on the ice instead of putting him in the press box. As a bottom of the lineup player, this ability makes Pysyk very useful.

Evgenii Dadonov

The Pathers have more traditional players about to become  UFAs. Evgenii Dadonov who recently turned 31 will be looking for a new contract. He is a hard-working right-winger who has no fear flying into the corners. He is coming off a very team-friendly three-year contract worth $12 million or $4 million annually.

Over the span of that deal, Dadonov scored 81 goals and 101 assists for a total of 182 points. Now looking for a new deal, he will certainly be looking to cash in on his next contract.

Mike Hoffman

Mike Hoffman has also been a big point producer for the Cats. After coming back from a 36 goal and 34 assists season, Hoffman tallied 29 goals and 30 assists this year. There’s no doubt that at age 30 he will also be looking to get himself another solid contract. This year he earned $5.1875 million.

Erik Haula

Erik Haula is a two-way center who was a seventh-round draft pick in 2009. Unlike most who get selected that late, Haula managed to carve out a good career in the NHL. He has played 405 games through seven seasons in the league.

Haula joined the Panthers after being included in the package they received for trading away Vincent Trocheck. Knowing that Haula had an expiring contract when the Panthers dealt for him, there’s a good chance that Tallon is prepared to let Haula walk in the offseason.

Brian Boyle

The last pending UFA on the Panthers is a former Maple Leafs center, Brian Boyle. His time in Toronto was very short, lasting just 21 games. At that time he got just three points, all of them on assists. At age 35, Boyle’s coming off a season where he played 39 games and scored six goals and nine assists. At this point in his career, Boyle will be looking to join a team that values veteran leadership.

Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens have been stocking their cupboards in preparation for a future run at the Stanley Cup. One player that was playing in the minors that likely won’t have a role with the club is a pending UFA, Dale Weise.

Dale Weise

Weise joined the Canadiens organization when he was included in a trade with Christian Folin that sent him from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for David Schlemko and Byron Froese. In his career, Weise has been traded three times; all three times the team acquiring him was the Habs.

Perhaps this time, instead of giving up assets to get the right-winger in their system Montreal will try and re-sign him. At this point in his career, Weise is bouncing between the NHL and AHL. If he does return to Quebec, there’s a good chance he’ll see a stretch with the Laval Rocket.

Christian Folin

Folin, the other player Montreal got from the Flyers in 2019, also played with Weise in Laval. Together they are the only players on the Canadiens UFA list. With Folin, a right-handed shot D-man having played just 16 games and Weise having played 23 games, the team won’t be too concerned if they lost both to free agency.

RFAs

General manager Marc Bergevin will be more concerned about re-signing key restricted free agents. Agreeing to terms with Max Domi should be his top priority. He, along with Xavier Ouellet and Victor Mete are the Habs’ rostered RFAs. With a projected cap space of $4,539,794, Bergevin shouldn’t have too much trouble getting his players signed.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Kevin Shattenkirk

The Tampa Bay Lightning have a number of players about to hit unrestricted free agency. The highest-paid of the bunch is defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. He signed a one year $1.75 million deal with the Lightning and had an excellent season with them.

Shattenkirk played 70 games where he scored 8 goals and 26 assists. He also had an even-strength Corsi rating of 54.1, which was 2.9 better than his teammates. Shattenkirk’s ability to put together a fine season should turn heads around the league.

General managers are already well aware of what the blueliner was capable of but after his most recent campaign, his representatives will surely be getting multiple calls.

Shattenkirk would be a great addition to the Maple Leafs. He could play a top-four role and spend time on the powerplay. So long as they don’t overpay for his services, Shattenkirk would be a perfect fit in Toronto.

Zack Bogosian

Zach Bogosian is about to hit unrestricted free agency for the second time in a very short span. In late February, after failing to report to the Rochester Americans he was placed on unconditional waivers by the Buffalo Sabres.

When Bogosian cleared waivers, his contract was terminated and he became free to sign with the team of his choice. The defenseman picked Tampa. In a small sample with the team, eight games, Bogo looked rejuvenated and all his metrics rose. His short time in Tampa should actually help Bogosian going into the offseason.

Luke Schenn

A player who was involved in one of the Leafs top-five trades of the decade is about to become a UFA. Luke Schenn has gone from being considered an NHL stud to a depth piece on the Lightning’s blueline. Being paid league minimum,  Schenn was waived on Jan. 17 but was called back thanks to injuries. He also spent a part of the season in the press box as a healthy scratch and played six games for the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL.

Jan Rutta

Jan Rutta went into the NHL shutdown on the IR. At age 29, he played 33 games as a right defenseman for the Lightning and scored a goal and six assists. He was expected to return to the lineup in mid-March which means that he would be ready to play by the start of next season.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs have four pending UFAs on the active roster. Cap issues will help GM Kyle Dubas make determinations on what to do about building a roster with or without those players going forward.

Tyson Barrie

It is expected that the Leafs will not be able to afford Tyson Barrie once his contract expires.

Barrie had a rough start to the year but when Babcock left town Barrie was given more freedom to be creative on the ice. This allowed him to do what was successful for him with the Colorado Avalanche and jump into the rush.

When Keefe joined the Toronto Maple Leafs, Barrie’s offense was immediately sparked. This will help him secure the big-ticket contract that many speculate is coming the defenseman’s way once he hits the open market.

Jason Spezza

Jason Spezza, who will be a Hockey Hall of Fame hopeful, is also about to hit free agency. He has already made his intentions clear that he would like to return for another season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Playing on league minimum this year, he was an excellent addition as the team’s fourth-line center. Expect Spezza to claim the same role next season.

Cody Ceci

Cody Ceci has been expected to finish the season with another franchise but after the deadline passed the defenseman remained with the Leafs. He played well once he was given a more appropriate spot in the lineup and moved from the first to the third pairing. Ceci’s biggest problem all year was that he was tied to his $4.5 million one-year contract, which raised expectations on the defender to a level he could never reach.

Ceci will not earn anywhere near what he did this season. On a more affordable deal, the Leafs may be interested in bringing him back. If not, they shouldn’t find it too difficult to replace the 26-year-old.

Kyle Clifford

Dubas will also need to make a decision on whether to re-sign Kyle Clifford. The scrappy left-winger joined the Leafs as a part of the trade that also brought them backup goaltender Jack Campbell in a highly graded trade with the Los Angeles Kings.

In exchange for Clifford and Campbell Toronto had to give up Trevor Moore and a conditional third-round pick. One of the Conditions is that the pick would be upgraded to a second-round selection if Clifford re-signs with the Toronto Maple Leafs next season.

This makes re-signing Clifford more costly. Dubas will need to evaluate whether he would prefer to find a different UFA to fill Clifford’s role instead.

Don’t forget to check back in tomorrow where every UFA in the Western Conference’s Pacific Division will be broken down.