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Filip Hronek Signing Bad News for Toronto Maple Leafs

Filip Hronek's new contract does not bode well for the Toronto Maple Leafs as paying such a high price will affect the going rate for high-end free-agent defencemen.

By Nestor Quixtan

The high price the Vancouver Canucks paid for Filip Hronek has driven up the going rate for high-end blue liners.
The high price the Vancouver Canucks paid for Filip Hronek has driven up the going rate for high-end blue liners. / Derek Cain/GettyImages
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The Vancouver Canucks recent signing of Filip Hronek to a massive deal is bad news for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Vancouver signed Hronek to an eight-year, $58 million contract. The deal comes with a $7.25 million cap hit which will hurt the market the Toronto Maple Leafs hope to soon enter.

The deal is certainly surprising because that seems like a lot of money for Filip Hronek.

Hronek put up 48 points in 82 games this past season. Most notably, he chipped in two points in the postseason.

Are those numbers worth nearly $60 million over eight years? Is it worth $7.25 million a year?

Filip Hronek Signing Bad News for Toronto Maple Leafs

Well, the purpose of this discussion is not to determine if the Canucks overpaid. In my estimation, they did. But the task at hand is to underscore this deal is bad news for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Leafs have been rumoured to be pursuing top-tier defencemen such as Nikita Zadorov or Chris Tanev. So, here’s where Hronek’s deal is bad news for the Toronto Maple Leafs: It will cost the club at least $7 million to get a blue liner relatively in line with Hronek.

In other words, the Canucks inadvertently messed up the free-agent market by overpaying for Hronek. Now, just about every free-agent blue liner must be giddy with joy as their agents can use Hronek’s deal as a comparison.

So, how much would the Leafs have to pony up for someone like Chris Tanev or Brandon Montour? The issue is not paying players. The Leafs can afford it. The problem lies in the cap space it will take to get a top free-agent blue liner.

In short, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be in tough trying to sign a high-profile defenceman. Meanwhile, the club needs an upgrade in goal and probably also a centre to play behind Tavares and Matthews. Then, there’s the Mitch Marner dilemma.

 The Leafs have a little under $20 million in free cap space, according to PuckPedia. That’s not very much room to maneuver when considering the number of RFAs, and needed upgrades. However, there is also a lot of deadweight on the roster to cut from.

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Rumours have the Leafs pursuing at least two of Montour, Tanev, Demello, Zadorov, Skejei or Pesce. Regardless of which one they are after, the price just went up significantly with the contract the Canucks just gave to Hronek.

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