Toronto Maple Leafs Rumour Round Up: Kuemper, Landeskog and More
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the market to improve their team after a disappointing end to the playoffs, and as such are rumoured to be in on virtually every player available.
According to hockey insider Frank Seravalli, the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the teams interested in goaltender Darcy Kuemper. He is coming off a down year playing for the Arizona Coyotes but could be a valuable addition to work in tandem with Jack Campbell.
It is not too shocking that Toronto would be interested in Kuemper. It sounds like Maple Leafs pending unrestricted free agent goaltender Frederik Andersen wants more than $5 million a season. How much more is unknown, but Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas might try to get Kuemper to sign an extension for less than what Andersen is asking.
This coming season will be the second year of a two-year contract with a $4.5 million AAV. His record over the last two shortened seasons was 26-22-5, which is pretty good for a goaltender on a non-playoff team. Last season Kuemper posted a .907 SV% and a 2.56 GAA with two shutouts in 27 games.
Toronto Maple Leafs Not The Only Team Interested In Darcy Kuemper
The other teams that Frank lists as having an interest in Kuemper are the Colorado Avalanche and the Seattle Kraken. Both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Avalanche will have to wait until after the July 21st expansion draft to see whether or not the Kraken select Kuemper as their player from Arizona.
ICE BREAKERS: #Yotes Darcy Kuemper emerges as primary target for #Leafs and #Avs. Plus more on the goalie market, Giordano, Suter, Weber and Eichel.https://t.co/URARvkY5Xu
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 15, 2021
It is believed that the Coyotes will protect restricted free agent goaltender Adin Hill in the expansion draft, which will leave Kuemper exposed. If Kuemper is still available after the expansion draft, Toronto will surely try to acquire him.
It is unknown what the Coyotes asking price will be for Kuemper, but it will likely cost Toronto a prospect or two. Kuemper is not the only player Toronto is showing interest in. Sounds like they have started to show some interest in Colorado forward Gabriel Landeskog.
On Wednesday evening, David Pagnotta from thefourthperiod.com made a guest appearance on Sportsnet Tonight on The Fan 590 radio station in Toronto and indicated that Zach Hyman is looking for a new deal worth close to $6 million per season. He also noted that the Toronto Maple Leafs are not prepared to pay Hyman that much. Hyman will hit the open market when free agency starts on July 28th.
With Hyman leaving, Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas will look to fill Hyman’s roster spot by trade or free agency. One player Toronto is likely to target is Gabriel Landeskog according to Pagnotta.
Pagnotta reported on Wednesday that the Maple Leafs are trying to move forward Alex Kerfoot and his $3.5 million cap hit. If Dubas can get that done, he could use the extra cap space to try and acquire Landeskog. He also indicated that Landeskog lives just outside the Toronto area in the off-season.
That could be part of Toronto’s selling point to Landeskog along with the fact that Landeskog can go from one highly offense team to another. A first line of Landeskog, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner is bound to put up a lot of points.
Last season Landeskog recorded 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points in 54 games. Scoring depth is something that the Toronto Maple Leafs need to address this off-season, and Landeskog fits that need perfectly.
Toronto will likely have to offer Landeskog a long-term deal with an AAV of $7 million as a starting point. If Dubas is successful in getting the Swede to sign in Toronto, that will likely be the team’s biggest signing of the off-season.
During an episode of Lead Off on Sportsnet The Fan 590, hockey insider Elliotte Friedman stated that the Toronto Maple Leafs have been interested in adding a player like Tyler Bertuzzi for a while, and that he’s the type of player that makes the most sense to replace Zach Hyman.
Bertuzzi is not as big of a fish as Landeskog is, but if Kyle Dubas fails to sign Landeskog, trading for Bertuzzi could be a decent second choice. Bertuzzi only played in nine games last season due to injury.
That injury could work out for the Toronto Maple Leafs in two ways. The first way it helps them is that Detroit’s asking price will not be as high as if Bertuzzi had played most of the season. The second way it helps is that Bertuzzi is a restricted free agent, and Toronto can sign him for close to what he is making now ($3.5 million).
Dubas acquiring Bertuzzi could be a low-cost/high reward type of trade. Bertuzzi can produce 20+ goals and 45+ points a season while playing a similar role that Hyman did. The young forward is a pain in the ass to play against, and that is something the Toronto roster needs.
With Bertuzzi in the lineup, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe will have a feisty, hard-working, left-winger who can put the puck in the net. That sounds like a Hyman replacement to me, and if Dubas can sign him for $4.5 million or less, that is a big win for Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
If Bertuzzi comes to Toronto and is allowed to play with Matthews and Marner, he could become a regular 25 goal scorer who puts up 50+ points a season. That would be an upgrade over Hyman and at a lower cost than Hyman. Hyman is reportedly seeking between $5million – $6 million in free agency.
If Toronto loses out on Landeskog, but is able to acquire Bertuzzi, then they might be able to land a different big fish from the free agency pond.
Back in June, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that there was some mutual interest between Dougie Hamilton and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Friedman commented that he believes Hamilton would help stabilize the Toronto’s defense. He also reported that he’s been told that Hamilton would be interested in playing for the Maple Leafs, because he’s from Toronto.
Both of those are great things, but at the end of the day it comes down to price. Luke Fox from Sportsnet reported that Hamilton is seeking a long-term deal worth slightly more than $8 million per season. That is no easy thing for Dubas and the cap strained Maple Leafs to try and get.
Right away, fans began to say it is not possible, but with the master of the salary cap Brandon Pridham on Dubas’s side, they would find a way to make it work. If they are willing to move Kerfoot and his $3.5 million to make room for Landeskog at $7 million, they can find a way to make room for another $1.25 million to $1.5 million.
Another thing to think about is that if Kerfoot is traded before the NHL expansion draft, then the Seattle Kraken will likely select either Holl or Dermott. If either of those two players is selected, Toronto will have an additional $1.5 million to $2 million in cap space.
Right now, Toronto has $9.35 million in cap space. If they trade Kerfoot for no roster players, that will give them $12.85 million. Add the cap hit from Dermott or Holl to that, and Toronto would have between $14.35 million – $14.85 million. That is more than enough to sign Hamilton to a long-term deal with an $8.25 million AAV, with cap space left over to fill out the roster.
Hamilton is a big guy at 6’6 and 227 Lbs. He records an average of 40 points a season and eats up a ton of ice time. One thing Toronto lacked last season was having a scoring threat from the point on the power-play. Hamilton would provide them with that as well as a guy who can wait for the right pass to present itself.
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Whether the Toronto Maple Leafs can add either of Hamilton or Landeskog, I think it is in the team’s best interest for Dubas to make a big splash this off-season.