GOING RATE
Blue and white weigh deals for Zaitsev and JVR with Sin City entry set to stock up
The Leafs’ offseason spending will set the bar for Auston Matthews down the road.
The most positive takeaway from the Maple Leafs’ six-game playoff exit is the palpable sense of optimism surrounding the team. It’s as if next season can’t come fast enough.
“There’s definitely a lot of that excitement for me,” said winger James van Riemsdyk.
“We’ve still got a ways to go,” said centre Nazem Kadri. “We’re climbing, though. We’re climbing. We’re on our way up. The future’s bright for us.”
Those were the veterans talking just minutes after Sunday night’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Capitals in Game 6. They’ve been around for some of the franchise’s lowest points, but they see more highs coming. They want to stay.
“Over the course of my five seasons, there’s been some ups and downs. The support we get is second to none and that gives you goosebumps, even after how it ended right there, how loud the building got for us,” added van Riemsdyk.
“They know how far we’ve come and the effort we put into this. We’re proud to play for this city and these fans.”
Almost immediately, the braintrust of GM Lou Lamoriello, president Brendan Shanahan and coach Mike Babcock have hard decisions to make. On Tuesday there will be exit meetings with players, plans laid out for the summer. Here are a few things to watch:
JUNE 21: EXPANSION DRAFT
The Vegas Golden Knights get to take one player from every team, and have a special Vegas-only window to talk to unrestricted free agents.
Should they reach a deal with, say, Brian Boyle, that would count as one from the Leafs and they wouldn’t have to worry about the expansion draft.
More likely, the Leafs will need to protect seven forwards, three defencemen and one goalie. They must expose at least two forwards and one defenceman who: played at least 40 games this year, or 70 over the last two; are under contract, or restricted free agents to whom the team has made qualifying offers. Injured players (Nathan Horton, Joffrey Lupul) and those with fewer than three years in North America (William Nylander, Nikita Zaitsev and more) are exempt.
Likely to be protected: Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, Leo Komarov, Connor Brown, Brendan Leipsic, Kerby Rychel, Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner and Connor Carrick.
Likely available: Eric Fehr, Matt Martin, Martin Marincin. Also Josh Leivo, Seth Griffith and Alexey Marchenko.
JUNE 23-24: ENTRY DRAFT
This weekend’s lottery to determine draft order will not affect the Leafs, who have the 17th or 18th choice depending on how far Nashville goes in the post-season under a complicated formula.
The Leafs will have six picks through the seven rounds, including San Jose’s second-rounder and Pittsburgh’s fourth-rounder. They traded their own second- and third-round picks.
JULY 1: UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENCY
The Leafs will watch the progress of centre Freddie Gauthier very closely during the Marlies’ AHL playoff run. That will help determine if they want to re-sign trade-deadline pickup Brian Boyle. The Leafs will also be one of, oh, about 31 teams looking to upgrade on defence. Do they stick with the devils they know in Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak (if Polak is healthy)? Do Marlies Rinat Valiev or Travis Dermott have a chance?
JULY 1: RESTRICTED FREE AGENCY
Three impressive rookies — Zaitsev, Brown and Zach Hyman — are restricted free agents. A seven-year deal for defenceman Zaitsev seems likely. Brown, who scored 20 goals, and Hyman are hard-working forwards, great role models and teammates. Shorter-term deals at $2.5 million to $3 million are probably the goal.
JULY 1: CONTRACT EXTENSIONS
This is where things really get interesting. Teams are allowed to work on extensions with players whose contracts expire July 1, 2018. The Leafs will have to decide which veterans should stay. Van Riemsdyk is the biggest priority. He is 12th in scoring among NHL left wingers over the last five years and earns $4.25 million — less than many behind him on that list, including Milan Lucic, Andrew Ladd and Jeff Skinner. On the open market in two summers, van Riemsdyk might cash in, but he has said he wants to stay. And extension with a raise makes sense. The Leafs might also be smart to try to lock up Nylander, who might prefer to take a shot at a second impressive season before negotiating. Whatever Nylander gets will be the bar that both Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner will leap over a year later. So the longterm salary-cap ramifications begin with Nylander.