Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 5 NHL Free Agency Signings for 2021
The Toronto Maple Leafs did not make any big name signings this summer.
The biggest thing to happen to the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer was losing Zach Hyman to the Edmonton Oilers (a contract that does not appear on this list). The Leafs already have big money dedicated to three star defenseman and four star forwards, so there wasn’t really much for them to do in free-agency besides tinker around the margins.
With the NHL free agency period not yet a month old (it kicked off July 28th this year instead of the regular July 1 date), there are still a few decent, if not intriguing, names left on the unsigned list.
Players like Tuukka Rask, Sami Vatanen, Eric Staal, James Neal, Bobby Ryan, Alex Galchenyuk and Casey Cizikas are still out there waiting for a willing team with enough cap flexibility to swoop in and pluck them out of free agency purgatory. The Leafs have some cap flexibility because Alex Kerfoot and Ilya Mikheyev combine to make over $5 million and could easily be moved, however if that is card the team is going to play, I’d expect them to play it closer to the trade deadline.
For the majority of the players who signed early on in free agency; however, July 28 must have felt like December 25; some teams were in a very giving mood:
Calgary gave Blake Coleman, who turns 30 in November, six years and nearly $30 million with a no-trade-clause (first three years) and a modified NTC (last three years); Edmonton locked up Zach Hyman with a seven-year contract at $5.5 million per that features a no-movement-clause for the first five years (M-NTC the last two) and Los Angeles inked Phillip Danault and his five goals in 53 games last year to a whopping six-year, $33 million deal that features a NMC for the first half of the contract before reverting to a M-NTC. Heck, even Jonathan Bernier managed to get a multi-year deal that pays him more than $4 million annually! (all stats and figures from capfriendly.com)
But despite some of these ill-fated monster deals, there were also some signings that should provide a favorable amount of value. Here are five free agency signings that stand out to me as providing the best value:
MIKE HOFFMAN- 3 years, $13.5 million (Montreal)
Mike Hoffman just doesn’t receive the credit he deserves.
He has quietly put up some pretty impressive numbers in his nearly ten-year NHL career, sporting an 82-game average of 28 goals and 60 points (all stats from hockey-reference.com). In 545 games played Hoffman has 189 goals and 395 points while not exactly seeing significant ice time (his career average time on ice is 16:43).
Granted, he’s primarily an offensive player and has some defensive deficiencies but Hoffman’s offense hasn’t dipped below a 20-goal, 50-point pace since 2013-2014, when he only played 25 games and was coming off of back-to-back seasons of three and one games played, respectively. His possession numbers are elite (favorable zone-starts notwithstanding) and he always provides a positive point share (45.9 career, 4.1 last year).
Hoffman, who turns 32 in November, should still provide some much-needed scoring on a Habs squad that has some good depth and youth but nobody who really fits the bill of a first-line scorer.
With no clauses in a contract that ends before Hoffman’s potential declining years (35+), Montreal picked up a high-quality player with little-to-medium risk at a good price.
Well done.
TYSON BARRIE- 3 Years, $13.5 million (Edmonton)
Maybe expectations were set too high (Oh, hi Larry Murphy) or maybe it was his, and the team’s, slow start under Mike Babcock that skewed perception but Tyson Barrie, contrary to popular belief, wasn’t actually that bad for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Obviously there were still concerns about his game (He only signed a one-year, $3.75 million contract with Edmonton last season) but Barrie just flat-out produced in 2020-2021, scoring eight goals and 48 points in 56 games with a 57.9 CF% and 7.3 PS.
It’s hard to see much of a downside here. Barrie turned 30 in July so he’ll be just 32 at the end of this deal. There isn’t a no-trade or movement clause to be worried about and $4.5 million per season is pretty great value for a defenceman that nearly scored at a point-per-game pace last year (and it’s only $1.25 million more than what Edmonton gave to Cody Ceci on a four-year deal. Yes, Cody Ceci received a four-year deal).
Edmonton is a bit of an enigma to me. Despite being a weakness their goaltending remains completely untouched and while I like the player I don’t think the Hyman deal will age well.
The acquisition of 38-year old Duncan Keith and full retention of his cap hit is somewhat mind-boggling to me and I’m still trying to understand the Ceci commitment. But at least this Tyson Barrie signing looks good.
BRANDON SAAD- 5 years, $22.5 million (St. Louis)
Like Hoffman, Saad was one of the free agent left-wingers I was hoping the Toronto Maple Leafs would sign if Alex Kerfoot was ultimately chosen in the expansion draft. Unfortunately things didn’t turn out that way, and Saad signed with the Blues.
At $4.5 million per year over five years, the Blues made out very well here.
Saad turns 29 in late October and will be only 33 when this contract runs out. He sports a career CF% of 55.2 and a 43.4 PS and has never scored less than double-digits in goals in any season. In addition to being a consistent scorer and point producer, Saad has also suited up in 91 career playoff contests (scoring 25 goals), including tallying seven goals and eight points in 10 games this past post-season for Colorado.
St. Louis spent a fair chunk of change to extend (after acquiring him from New York) Pavel Buchnevich ($5.8 million per over four years), but he’s a big, talented winger who finally broke out this season and the top-six looks pretty good.
Saad is a nice replacement for the departing Hoffman.
TAYLOR HALL- 4 years, $24 million (Boston)
The Boston Bruins strike again.
Taylor Hall averages 70 points per 82 games, has a 56.3 career CF% , owns a career PS of 68 and doesn’t turn 30 until mid-November. So of course the Bruins get him on a sweetheart of a deal.
Boston’s highest paid player is currently Patrice Bergeron at $6.875 million. Pastrnak has two more years at $6.666 million and Marchand four more at $6.125 million. That, friends, are signings at their finest.
If Charlie McAvoy makes similar concessions in his contract next year then there should be a formal investigation into whatever hypnosis-inducing drugs Don Sweeney is obviously feeding to these players.
Hall looked really good in Boston last year (he scored eight goals and 14 points in 16 games) and it appears to be a nice fit for him. But the team is aging, Krejci is gone, the goaltending could be problematic and Nick Foligno at $3.8 million isn’t exactly a steal, particularly if injuries continue to take their toll on him.
$6 million for Hall (after signing a “cheap” one-year, $8 million deal last year), on the other hand, is more great business for the Bruins.
DOUGIE HAMILTON- 7 years, $63 million (New Jersey)
Yes, I know, that $9 million per-year cap hit isn’t exactly something to sneeze at. But really, that’s more than a fair price to pay for an elite, top-pairing RHD with size (6’6, 227lb) who has just entered his prime.
Hamilton turned 28 this June and is coming off of consecutive monster seasons with Carolina where he amassed 24 goals and 82 points in 102 games. He is one of the best defenseman in the NHL, possibly the best. Though some were hoping he’d somehow find his way home to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his massive salary made it all but impossible.
4th in Norris voting last year, Hamilton hasn’t scored less than 10 goals or 39 points in a single season since 2014-2015. He sports a career CF% of 58.4 and a career Point Share total of 64.5, which is split almost equally between offensive and defensive point shares. Hamilton is really a true stud on the back end.
New Jersey has some quality youth on their roster with Hughes and Hischier down the middle and a talented Blackwood between the pipes to complement a couple of strong FA signings in Hamilton and Tomas Tatar (who, at a respectable $4.5 million per over two years, is a very underrated player and point producer).
dark. Next. Leafs Prospect Readiness Rankings
Expect Hamilton to line up with Ty Smith, a highly-touted first-rounder from 2018 who had a nice debut season with New Jersey last year (23 points, 48 games, 58.8 CF%, 2.6 PS) and should form a formidable top-pairing for the Devils for years to come.
These are your top five signings of the summer, it’s just too bad the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t make the list.