Toronto Maple Leafs: Contract Expectations of Pending Free Agents

The Toronto Maple Leafs have many contracts due to end soon.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have an interesting and busy off-season (whenever it happens).

Between juggling the navigation of what will likely be a flat salary cap, a rushed off-season period to mitigate the amount of lost time between seasons due to the corona virus pandemic, and some key decisions on contract renewals or trades that may need to happen, Kyle Dubas will be a busy man.

Due to salary cap restrictions, I don’t picture the Toronto Maple Leafs being big buyers once free-agency opens, but with few exceptions, free agency is when teams make their worst decisions anyways, so this may turn out to be a good thing.

Dubas may, however,  surprise with some under-the-radar signings, like so much at this point, the future is unclear.

For now, we’ll turn our focus to the pending free agents currently under contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, both in the NHL and those who were assigned to the AHL.

For simplicity’s sake, the list is divided between NHL players and minor-league players, along with some thoughts on most of the players involved.

Toronto Maple Leafs Pending UFAs

The list of pending Unrestricted Free Agents for players who played at the NHL level for the organization is as follows:

• Kyle Clifford
• Jason Spezza
• Cody Ceci
• Tyson Barrie

Jason Spezza has already stated that he only wants to play in Toronto. 

Having good players is, obviously, important. Having good players who want to play for your team more than anything else is just as, if not more, important. Spezza is a great player (despite his age) and a solid veteran presence.

He may get a slight pay bump, but he’s worth it, and it’s clear that he wants to make it work. He’ll be back.

Kyle Clifford, another solid player, and former Stanley Cup winner who immediately endeared himself to the fanbase by bringing the physical element that so many have demanded for what feels like forever.

The decision to re-sign him, however, is not as cut and dry as Jason Spezza. If he is re-signed, the Leafs 2021 3rd round draft pick which was traded to the L.A. Kings upgrades to a 2nd round pick.

Given the ability that Kyle Dubas and his scouting team have at pulling talent such as Nick Robertson out of the draft, it is probably not worth a second round pick to sign Clifford.  Besides, he’d have to take at least a 50% pay cut to even make it a consideration.

Cody Ceci, there’s nothing more to say here. Overpaid, overvalued, and in my opinion, not an NHL player. It’s a no for me, not even if he wanted to come back at league minimum.

Tyson Barrie is probably walking away as well, and that is probably for the best.

The Toronto Maple Leafs won’t be able to afford what he will likely ask for.. With both Mikko Lehtonen and Timothy Liljegren expected to be factors on the Toronto maple Leafs blueline next year, they likely wouldn’t have room for a player of Barrie’s skillset anyway.

Toronto Maple Leafs Pending RFAs

The complete list of Maple Leafs RFAs is as follows:

• Travis Dermott
• Ilya Mikheyev
• Frederik Gauthier
• Denis Malgin
• Jeremy Bracco
• Pontus Aberg
• Max Verroneau
• Teemu Kivihalme

Travis Dermott is the only “true” RFA of the NHL players on this list.

Ilya Mikheyev, Denis Malgin, and Frederik Gauthier are also Restricted Free Agents, but they each have the option to file for arbitration, which will make the decision to re-sign these players either extremely easy or extremely hard.

Malgin and Gauthier will likely re-sign at or close to, league minimum. Malgin performed well in a limited sample, and Gauthier, despite being on pace to have his best NHL season to date, doesn’t exactly warrant a big pay bump given his place on the team.

Ilya Mikheyev, on the other hand, may prove to be a little more difficult.

It is undeniable that the team plays better with him in the lineup. On his worst day, he’s still a top-9 forward who produces offensively and is great at supporting the defense.

His agent, Dan Milstein, has tweeted phrases such as “Show Me The Money” in response to tweets about how well Mikheyev has performed.

If he can be retained for under $2 million, it’s a fantastic contract that potentially makes Andreas Johnsson expendable. If his team pushes for arbitration, however, and they push for something significantly higher, then the Toronto Maple Leafs may have no choice but to walk away from the Russian winger.

Which leaves us with Travis Dermott, who will be fresh off an entry-level contract.

This  is one negotiation that Dubas absolutely can and should win easily. Dermott has the potential to be a top-4 defenseman, the flashes of greatness have been shown at times in his young NHL career, and has extremely strong stats in a third line role.

Another factor to consider is that he is a Toronto boy born and bred, this is his dream job. It’s unlikely that he’ll be so willing to risk that future for a slight pay bump, but only time will tell.

I can see a one-year, “bet on yourself” bridge deal like Andreas Johnsson took, but don’t discount the possibility of a long-term deal, at around $3 million AAV. If he develops out to his potential within the next season or two, it’s a Nazem Kadri-esque bargain for a key player. If it doesn’t work out, it’s an easy contract to offload.

Toronto Marlies Pending RFAs

Max Verroneau and Teemu Kivihalme both have arbitration rights.

Both are young, interesting players with some NHL upside. However there is a small condition as part of the trade that brought Verroneau to Toronto from Ottawa: if he plays 10 games or more in the NHL, the Leafs give up a 6th round pick to the Senators, so that should be considered when evaluating his future.

Pontus Aberg is another interesting case. He has arbitration rights, but rumors have him linked to a KHL contract. It could be a bargaining tool to try and secure an NHL position, but I don’t see where he would fit in this current lineup.

Which leaves us with the curious case of Jeremy Bracco. He doesn’t have arbitration rights, and also seemingly disappeared from the Toronto Marlies lineup in early February due to a personal issue rather than injury.

Around Christmas, there were reports that he had asked for a trade, which never materialized. Perhaps it’s something Dubas re-visits now with the signings of Alexander Barabanov and the emergence of Nick Robertson.