One of the main tasks facing Leafs GM Dave Nonis this summer will be to decide how many of the 13 restricted and unrestricted free agents that finished the season will be back and if so, for how much.
All indications are that Clarke MacArthur and Tyler Bozak’s days in Blue and White are numbered unless they are willing to take less than what they would get on the open market, Leo Komarov could opt to return to Dynamo Moscow of the KHL if Toronto does not offer a long term deal, while Randy Carlyle favorites Colton Orr, Fraser McLaren and Nazem Kadri are all expected to be re-signed.
Where the decisions could be most critical is on the blueline, as five of the eight Leafs defensemen who played in the playoffs need of new contracts. Ryan O’Byrne, Mike Kostka and Mark Fraser are all bottom pairing candidates who would likely take short term deals.
Cody Franson, who enjoyed a renaissance under Carlyle and scored a club high 29 points and Carl Gunnarsson, who played with team captain Dion Phaneuf on the top pairing for most of the season will likely need long term contracts.
Room under the salary cap for those signings may be freed up with the compliance buyout of Mike Komisarek and the possible trade or buyout of veteran John-Michael Liles, but the
Toronto defense needs to add a veteran shutdown defenseman to play with the more offensive minded Phaneuf, Franson and Jake Gardiner.
Rob Scuderi – Age: 34, Position: D, Shoots: L Height: 6’1”, Weight: 216 - 2013 Salary = $3.4 Million
Stats(with Los Angeles): 48 GP, 1 G, 11 A, 12 Pts, 4 PIM (Playoffs): 16 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 Pts
The 34 year old Scuderi abilities as a shutdown defenseman are unquestioned and his resume is superb, with two Stanley Cup(with Pittsburgh and Los Angeles) victories in the past four seasons. He is averaging over 22 minutes per game (second only to Drew Doughty) during the 2013 playoffs, kills penalties and leads his club with 36 blocked shots.
The native of Syosset, NY signed a four year, $13.6 Million deal with the Kings as a free agent in 2009 and is an unrestricted free agent this summer, but the Kings may be willing to move on from Scuderi because of their quality depth on defense.
Kings GM Dean Lombardi has Doughty, one of the best defensemen in the game and bolstered his blueline by adding ex-Calgary Flame Robyn Regehr at the trade deadline. Regehr is a cut from the same cloth as Scuderi and signed a two year, $6 Million contract extension with Los Angeles last week.
Lombardi also has to re-sign young defensemen Slava Voynov, Alec Martinez and Jake Muzzin, who will undoubtedly get substantial pay increases off their entry level deals.
Scuderi is likely to draw significant interest on July 5, possibly from Pittsburgh if the first few games against Boston are any indication and from teams like Toronto, who have an excess of offensive minded defensemen. Many teams may be scared off by his age and that wear and tear will catch up with him, but those factors also might keep his price tag or term down to a reasonable level.
Expected price tag - $3 Million to $3.5 Million on a three year deal
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Here is a video clip of new MLSE president and CEO Tim Leiweke with Leafs TV’s Paul Hendrick discussing the Leafs present and future:
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