Any student of recent Maple Leafs history has to recognize that the club has made major cap-crippling mistakes when signing high priced unrestricted free agents, but have had much better luck finding cost effective gems that exceeded expectations.
The signing of Jason Blake in 2007 was symbolic of the mismanagement of former GM John Ferguson Jr, as the Leafs inked the 34 year old winger to a five year, $20 Million deal off after scoring a career-high 40 goal season and scored just 50 goals in 3 ½ seasons in Toronto. Brian Burke was not immune to errors in judgment, as the veteran free agent signings of Mike Komisarek($4.5 Million) and Tim Connolly($4.75 Million) failed to meet expectations and undoubtedly contributed to his demise in Toronto.
In spite of these costly failures, the examples of Clarke MacArthur and Jay McClement should provide enough evidence to current Leafs GM Dave Nonis that there are gains to be made in free agency if you can get players signed for shorter terms and reasonable prices.
MacArthur hit the market unexpectedly after the Atlanta Thrashers walked away from an arbitration award in August, 2010. After being signed for one year, $1.1 Million, the 25 year old led the Leafs with 41 assists in 2010-11 and posted two straight 20+ goal seasons.
McClement was Toronto’s only significant free agent signing last summer, inking the Kingston, ON native to a two year, $3 Million deal. Although he scored only eight goals and nine assists, a case could be made for McClement being the Leafs MVP in 2013, as his versatility was utilized on the second, third and fourth lines, at center and wing, taking faceoffs and killing penalties.
While the Leafs need for a first line center or an established front line goaltender has long been known, they also have to continue adding players who can provide quality depth, size and intangibles without breaking the bank.
Here is the first of a few possible additions that Toronto may be interested in when July 5th rolls around:
Boyd Gordon – Age: 29, Position; C/RW, Height: 6’1”, Weight:200 - 2013 Salary = $1.325 Million
Stats(with Phoenix): 48 GP, 4 G, 10 A, 14 Pts, 8 PIM, Faceoff Winning %: .573
Gordon is not a sexy name like Mike Ribiero, Derek Roy, Stephen Weiss or Tyler Bozak when it comes to the 2013 free agent center class. The 29 year old played seven seasons with Washington after being was drafted 17th overall in 2002 and signed a two year contract with the Coyotes in 2011.
Under Coyotes coach Dave Tippett’s stringent defensive style, Gordon gained notice as a quality shutdown center, faceoff specialist and penalty killer. In 2013, he was among the best in the league with a 57.3% faceoff winning percentage and was considered a dark horse candidate for the Selke Trophy.
Coach Randy Carlyle is likely to want any additions to the roster to fit better with his more defensively responsible philosophy and Gordon fits with that direction. If the Leafs decide to let Bozak walk to greener pastures, Mikhail Grabovski would go back to a more offensive role along with Nazem Kadri, McClement would remain in his current role and Gordon could replace Bozak as a faceoff specialist and on special teams.
Expected price tag - $1.75 to 2 Million on a multi-year deal
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