A FEW SUMMER PROJECTS
There’s plenty for the Leafs to resolve this off-season, from the GM’s office to free agency
When the handshakes were finished, the jerseys were off, and it was time to address the media — and through them, the fans — Auston Matthews pulled his Toronto Maple Leafs baseball cap peak down over his eyes and kept his head lowered. The body language emanated disappointment. The words echoed hope. “These are the moments we hope to be in the future,” said Matthews. “We have to find a way to make the most of it.” It’s fair to say the 2017-18 Maple Leafs — one that set a franchise record for points in the regular season — did not make “the most of it.” At one point, the Vegas oddsmakers labelled them the Stanley Cup favourites. The Leafs failed to parlay that even into the second round of the playoffs. And while there’s a fair bit of blame to go around — a bad Game 1 and 2 all-around, and a terrible third period in Game 7 — these Maple Leafs are far more about the future than the past. Disappointing playoff experiences are part of the pain coach
Mike Babcock referred to three summers ago when he took the job. The way things are set up, the Leafs look like they will be playoff regulars for some time to come. That doesn’t mean, however, it’s going to be easy. The defence might be in for a complete revamp. Jake Gardiner was the defenceman Mike Babcock relied on most in the playoffs, and he made egregious mistakes in Game 7. Nikita
Zaitsev’s seven-year, $31.5 million deal doesn’t look as good this year as it did last year. Here’s a look at some of the issues facing the Leafs this summer.
EXECUTIVE SUITE
President Brendan Shanahan needs to sort out who the general manager will be. If he’s already made up his mind, he should say so as soon as possible. There’s no point in trotting out Lou Lamoriello during the locker clean-out on Friday for his assessment of the team and plans for the future unless he’s actually going to be the man making the decisions. Lamoriello has done a splendid job and he may already have a handshake agreement to carry on. He might also end up with a lesser role if Shanahan is ready to promote one of his assistants, Kyle Dubas or Mark
Hunter. A change of that magnitude could signal a difference in the personality and personnel with the team. Lamoriello has strict rules on appearances, on dealing with the media, and how he approaches contracts. Lamoriello likes to be patient.
LEADERSHIP
The thinking all along has been that Matthews is going to be the captain of the Maple Leafs. He might have had an uneven playoffs, but he is the team’s best all-around talent and a franchise cornerstone. He’ll deserve every penny of the next contract he’s awarded. But he might not actually be captain material. There’s no shame in that. His mid-series answer of “sh-t happens” when asked about his scoring problems showed a shocking immaturity.
Morgan Rielly is the better team spokesman — something that’s one of the captain’s chief public duties on a daily basis, especially after losses. And hey, he just took a Zdeno Chara slapshot off the face. Teammates will remember that every time he speaks. And maybe there’s no need for anyone to wear a C. Three assistants have been fine.
WILLIAM NYLANDER
William Nylander is a restricted free agent on July 1, meaning the Leafs control his rights. His second full season seemed to be at the same level as his first. He didn’t take a leap forward. The holes in his game — mainly a lack of competitiveness — were apparent for times during the season and glaring in the playoffs. It’s too early, though, to say he’s reached his ceiling. If he can play centre effectively — and he played more this season than last — he can be an important piece. The Leafs might want to lock him up long term. Nylander might want to go short, bet on himself being able to put up bigger numbers, and cash in closer to unrestricted free agency.
MATTHEWS AND MARNER
Both have one year remaining on entry-level deals, but are eligible to sign contract extensions. The Leafs would be wise to pony up and sign them to long-term deals. Mitch Marner made tremendous strides and was the Leafs’ best forward from January on, including playoffs. Matthews is an elite talent with no quit in him. The players themselves (or their agents) may caution them to wait a year, add to their resume and wait for the salary cap to rise one more year before agreeing to deals. Things could get rocky. Marner’s agent, by the way, is Darren Ferris, who orchestrated a couple of holdouts in recent years, notably Josh Anderson of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Andreas Athanasiou of the Detroit Red Wings.
SAY GOODBYE
At the end, Tyler Bozak centred the fourth line with James van
Riemsdyk, Roman Polak was the sixth defenceman, and Leo
Komarov and Dominic Moore were scratched. Only Tomas
Plekanec aided his free agency cause with a solid post-season. The coach loves Polak and Komarov, role players now. That would be the only reason they’d be back. The rest have likely played their last game for Toronto.
LONG-SHOT BET
John Tavares.
The Maple Leafs will have a lot of salary cap space, over $20 million for the 2018-19 season, and very few players to sign. The cap space will evaporate in 2019-20 when new deals will be in place for Marner and Matthews. Why not aim for Tavares? Offer the max, 20 per cent of the salary cap, or about $16 million on a one-year deal? Tavares is coming off a team-friendly five-year deal that paid him an average of $5.5 million. He’ll get in the neighbourhood of $10 million a year for seven years. Or maybe he can cash in one year with the Leafs — be the highest-paid player for one season — and defer the long-term deal some- where else. Marian Hossa did just that, taking a one-year deal with Detroit ($7.45 million) in 2008-09 before signing his 12-year, $63 million deal with Chicago a year later.
FILLING HOLES
A top-flight defenceman is certainly a priority. The Leafs have the inside track on Russian free-agent defenceman Igor
Ozhiganov. He’s 25, and righthanded. Whether he’s top flight, or even an NHLer, remains to be seen. While Rielly was outplayed badly going head to head against Boston’s top line, just imagine how bad things would have been without him. He needs a more mobile partner than Ron Hainsey, who will return and whose penalty killing ability remains top notch. But 5-on-5, Rielly needs help. Acquiring one of the big pending free agents (in 2019) — like
Drew Doughty or Erik Karlsson — would be costly, in the neighbourhood of Nylander or Marner. Washington’s John Carlson could be a target. Detroit’s Mike
Green is a possibility. At forward, if Tavares is a no-go, the Leafs pursued Joe Thornton last year and may be interested in him again, depending on how he recovers from knee surgery. Former Leaf Michael Grabner is also a free agent, and just 30.
TRADE FODDER
Jake Gardiner has one year left on an average salary of $4.05 million. There’s a market for him, despite his error-prone ways. They’ll have let Bozak and van Riemsdyk leave for nothing. Might not want to repeat history ... Goalie Garrett Sparks is 24 and had a career year with the Marlies. The Leafs seem content with Frederik Andersen as the No. 1 and Curtis McElhinney as a backup ... Connor Carrick seems lost in Babcock’s team. Another team might covet his puck-moving ability ... Kasperi
Kapanen’s name is surely going to come up a lot, with his gamebreaking speed.