Dreger was quick to follow up that the proposal was made by Bozak's representatives at Newport Sports and not the Leafs.
The negotiations between Bozak and the Leafs will continue to be very public, as GM Dave Nonis has consistently stated that the club wants the 27 year old center back, but at his price. Toronto may be willing to give Bozak term on the deal, but likely not for the amount that his agents are looking for.
My suspicion is that if the Leafs sign Bozak to a contract extension, that they will trade or buyout Mikhail Grabovski to make room.
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The list of compliance buyout victims increased by one in the last 24 hours, as the New York Islanders expectedly exercised one of their financial “get out of jail free” cards on oft-injured goaltender Rick Dipietro.
The 32 year old Dipietro was the first pick in the 2000 NHL Draft and had eight years remaining on a 15 year, $67.5 Million contract with the Isles, but played only 47 games over the last four seasons due to hip, knee and concussion issues and was demoted to the AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers last season.
There are expected to be further buyout announcements over the next few days, but teams may be holding off till the last moment in hopes that another team may be interested in trading for a player they intend to buyout for someone they would consider keeping.
The trade between Calgary and Colorado is an example of such a transaction, as the Flames were considering using one of their two buyouts on veteran forward Alex Tanguay, but were able to ship him to one of his former clubs along with Cory Sarich for David Jones and Shane O’Brien.
That type of transaction may be what is holding up the expected buyout of Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek.
Komisarek has one year remaining on his five year, $22.5 Million deal with Toronto, which could be a selling point for a team looking for a veteran blueliner but not anxious to sign someone for three or four years. Komisarek’s contract was slightly front-loaded and a team acquiring him would only be on the hook for $3.5 Million his $4.5 Million cap hit.
Trading Komisarek would allow the Leafs to reserve both compliance buyouts, which can be used now or next summer on deals with longer term, like possibly center Mikhail Grabovski or defenseman John-Michael Liles.
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According to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun, representatives for Clarke MacArthur believe that the winger will be testing free agency on Friday, but have still left the door open slightly for the return of free agent center Tyler Bozak, if his contract demands are unreasonable.
Bozak is expected to draw significant interest on the open market this weekend and may be able to get offers close to $5 Million per season, whereas the Leafs would only want him back if the price were in the $3.5 to $ 4Million range. The acquisition of David Bolland over the weekend potentially gives Toronto three centers in Grabovski, Bolland and Nazem Kadri, so they will not be in desperate straits if they do not land Bozak or any of the big fish in free agency(Stephen Weiss or Vincent Lecavalier)
Koshan also indicates that the Leafs will be on the lookout for a veteran defenseman on July 5 and says that former Bruin Andrew Ference, two time Stanley Cup winner Rob Scuderi and former Shark and Pen blueliner Douglas Murray could be candidates. Another possible candidate may be former Leaf Hal Gill, who was placed on waivers by the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
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