The Toronto Maple Leafs should have signed a different veteran instead
In the 2017 offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Patrick Marleau to a three year, $18.75 million contract. This deal was given out by former general manager Lou Lamoriello. He ended up playing two years in Toronto where he totaled 84 points while not missing a single game.
The biggest reason why the Leafs brought in Marleau was not because of his talent, but due to the fact that he would be able to be a veteran and a leader on a young Leafs team. When the Leafs gave Marleau $18.75 million over three years, I knew it was a huge overpay for various reasons. First off, they were giving a 37-year-old $6.25 million a year which no one at that age should be getting unless they’re putting up superstar like caliber numbers.
The season prior to signing with the Leafs, Marleau put up 46 points with 27 of those being goals as a member of the San Jose Sharks (nhl.com). A decent number nonetheless, but not worth $6.25 million a year where the contract would end when he turns 40.
Eventually, they also were going to have to extend guys like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen and others as they were all on their rookie scale contracts. Giving Marleau that much money was going to hamper the Leafs ability to pay and fit everyone under the cap, which we saw they weren’t able to do.
Who Should the Toronto Maple Leafs Have Signed Instead?
The Leafs needed an older and more experienced player to mentor the young guys on the team. They also needed a veteran like Marleau to give a young Toronto Maple Leafs team a player with playoff experience.
Instead of signing Marleau to a three year deal, the Toronto Maple Leafs could or even should have signed Jaromir Jagr to a one year deal. Jagr, who would have been 45/46 during the 2017-18 season, would have only been a one year commitment for much cheaper than $6.25 million a year.
For the 2017-18 season, he ended up signing with the Calgary Flames for just $1 million. While he only registered seven points in 22 games, he could have done that for the Leafs playing fourth line minutes at a significantly cheaper cost than Marleau while providing veteran leadership and more playing experience.
Even if the Leafs front office at the time wasn’t content with Jagr, there were other veterans the Leafs could have signed like Mark Streit (39), Dan Girardi (33), Jarome Iginla (40) and a handful of others that would have cost less than $6.75 million a yeaer and provied the same traits that Marleau brought.
Unfortunately, Marleau cost the Leafs two draft picks which included a first round pick as that is what it took to get his contract off the books. It may have cost guys like Matthews, Marner, Nylander and John Tavares a couple dollars too.