Toronto Maple Leafs: Provincial Rivals Make a Great Deal

The Toronto Maple Leafs are probably favorites to win the Atlantic this season, but the Ottawa Senators have improved their team drastically over the summer.

While the Toronto Maple Leafs more or less stood at, the Senators brought in Alex Debrincat and Claude Giroux, to go with an already impressive core that includes Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuck, Tomas Chabot and Tim Stutzle (among others).

It was an impressive summer, but it won’t be enough for the Senators to catch the Leafs.  They should, however, at least compete for a playoff spot and are unlikely to finish in last.

That’s good news, at least.

And today they made an excellent signing.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Biggest Rivals Make a Smart Bet

The Senators signed potential superstar Tim Stutzle to an eight year contract extension with an $8.35 million cap hit.

Stutzle is only 20 years old, and was drafted third overall in 2020.  He still has a year to go on his entry-level deal, meaning he’s locked into being a Senator for nine seasons.

That is amazing for Ottawa and their fans – they lock up one of the best young players in hockey for his entire prime and they get him at what is almost guaranteed to eventually be a very-team friendly deal.

Sure, there is a chance that Stutzle does not live up to his potential, but the potential payoff here is incredible, while the risk that the contract is bad is nearly zero.

At worst, Stutzle should be a 25 goal scoring 65 point player that is maybe slightly overpaid.   At best, he’ll score 100+ points several times and be one of the best players in the NHL with a cap hit  that is barely half of what he’s worth.

That kind of payoff is worth the risk, in my opinion.

Sure, Stutzle has not technically earned this kind  of money, but by overpaying him today the team gets a very reasonable shot at having him on a team-friendly deal tomorrow.   On top of that, the Senators continue the good feelings of the great summer they had, and they show their fans that their top stars won’t be leaving the team as soon as they get good.

I can’t find one bad thing to say about this deal.  Potentially the Senators are going to get Leon Draisaitl on a team-friendly deal, with the most likely outcome being that they have a 30 goals 70+ point star player making slightly more or less than he’s worth.

But with almost no chance of a this contract being a total failure, I think the team will be happy with whatever happens.  The Senators are going to be a very good team, but they still lack the star power to make up for half of their six defenseman being total duds.

I don’t see them making the playoffs yet, but stranger things have happened.  Regardless, this signing is a great move and it’s a fun time to be a Senators fan.  Not as fun as being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan of course, but still pretty fun.