Toronto Maple Leafs Pending Free Agent Defensemen
Teemu Kivihalme (UFA): Going. He’s 26 and still not ready for the NHL. He’s not even an AHL regular. I think he goes back to Finland.
Chad Krys (RFA): Going. He’s 24 and hasn’t made an NHL push. There will be some new young defensemen joining the Marlies next season that the team should favour. I think he won’t get a qualifying offer as an RFA and will sign with another AHL team.
Joey Duszak (RFA with Arbitration): Going. He’s frustrated that he hasn’t gotten an NHL opportunity and maybe he’s right to feel that way. His situation reminds me of Jeremy Bracco’s a couple seasons ago. I think, like Bracco, he won’t get a qualifying offer, and he’ll sign somewhere else with more opportunity.
Kristians Rubins (RFA with Arbitration): Staying. The Toronto Maple Leafs like Rubins enough to keep him around. He may be close to getting more frequent play in the NHL and his RFA status restricts him enough to make it difficult to leave even if he wanted to.
Ilya Lyubushkin (UFA): Going. The Toronto Maple Leafs like Ilya Lyubushkin, but they’ll only want to keep him up to a specific price point. I think he’ll take an offer elsewhere that’s beyond Toronto’s budget.
Rasmus Sandin (RFA): Staying. He’s a young future star for the Toronto Maple Leafs. They wont let him go, but they also wont pay him for “future success” yet. Expect a short term bridge deal under $2 million AAV.
Timothy Liljegren (RFA): Staying. He’s in the same boat as Sandin. A short term bridge deal under $2 million AAV is most likely.
He and Sandin wont receive an offer sheet unless a team is sure the Leafs wont match which could be the $4,201,489 threshold where the Leafs would receive first and third round picks for compensation. It seems unlikely. (Info from Capfriendly).