One to go as the Leafs sign Kapanen, Johnsson
Two down, one to go.
With restricted free agents Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen under contract, Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas mentioned “the next order of business” on Friday.
That, of course, would be Mitch Marner.
“We continue to talk with (agent) Darren (Ferris) and have good dialogue with him,” Dubas said at the MasterCard Centre. “I know it’s a point of consternation within our fan base and publicly, but Mitch has been excellent throughout, and Darren has been excellent, and we just continue to stay in touch and hope to move toward an agreement.
“I think from the beginning, what we think about Mitch is not up for debate. I’m optimistic and feel good about where things will go in the future.”
Marner can entertain offer sheets starting Monday. The window to interview restricted free agents opened Wednesday and Marner’s camp reportedly has been taking calls from interested NHL teams. Whether an offer sheet will materialize is debatable, considering they have been few and far between in recent years, and the compensation to sign Marner likely would be four first-round draft picks (if he has an average annual value higher than US$10.568 million, which would be expected).
Dubas has said the Leafs would consider any offer sheet before deciding whether to match it, but the possibility doesn’t overly concern him.
As it is, Dubas was happy to get Johnsson and Kapanen under contract, praising the work done by assistant general manager Brandon Pridham.
Johnsson’s contract is for four years with an AAV of $3.4 million. Kapanen’s deal is for three years and an AAV of $3.2 million.
Johnsson had 20 goals and 23 assists in 73 games last season. Kapanen had 20 goals and 24 assists in 78 games.
“To know we have those guys locked in for even more than just one or two years, it’s a nice relief for us,” Dubas said. “We hope it gives them the ability to relax and just come in and continue to develop and reach their potential, which we don’t think either one is close to yet.”
As for other matters, Dubas warned against expecting much notable action on the Leafs front.
With the Johnsson and Kapanen signings, which became doable when Dubas unloaded Patrick Marleau’s $6.25-million salary, the Leafs have approximately $6.9 million in cap space.
Though trading Nikita Zaitsev would save $4.5 million a season for the next five years, the Leafs like the defenceman and won’t give him away. As for Jake Gardiner? He’s gone.
While he probably will have to shed more salaries, Dubas has been talking to free agents.
“We have to save space for Mitch,” Dubas said. “We all know we’re going to be right tight to the salary cap, so we’re trying to do some creative things on the edges with players who perhaps look at this as a legacy opportunity for them, or they look at this as a chance to rebound.”