The Maple Leafs current dilemma with four unsigned restricted free agents will be partially resolved by the end of the month, as the arbitration hearings for defensemen Carl Gunnarsson and Mark Fraser are scheduled for July 26 and July 30.
Negotiations continue with forward Nazem Kadri and blueliner Cody Franson, but it is likely that talks between the two sides will last into August, when both parties believe they can cut the best deal possible.
The goal of Leafs GM Dave Nonis will be to get everyone under contract before training camp opens in mid-September, but that will all depend on his willingness to give the four RFA’s either term or significant pay increases.
Nonis faces more negotiations and tough choices throughout the upcoming season, as Toronto has five veterans who qualify for unrestricted free agerncy at the end of the 2013-14 season.
Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf are the two big marquee names that head the list, but key role players like recently acquired center Dave Bolland, forward Jay McClement and winger Nikolai Kulemin are all slated to hit the market next summer unless Toronto can get them signed.
In an article in Friday’s
Toronto Star , aspiring player agent A.J. Warner speculated that the market value for Kessel would be north of $8 Million per season on a max eight year contract, while Phaneuf’s value would be close to $7 Million on a five year deal.
The value for Kessel is based on comparable top echelon forwards who recently signed contract extensions(Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Claude Giroux, Ilya Kovalchuk, Corey Perry and Brad Richards) averaging over $8 Million per year and that the 25 year old sniper is just entering the prime of his career and that an eight year contract will encompass the entire length of Kessel’s prime earning years.
Phaneuf could be in an enviable position in the summer of 2014, as he would be at the head of a free agent class that includes Niklas Hjarmalsson, Jay Bouwmeester and Dan Girardi. In spite of his defensive shortcomings(leading the NHL with 53 giveaways and the worst Corsi rating on the Leafs defensive corps) Phaneuf has ranked near the top of the league in defensive scoring and time on ice, playing both special teams and 5 on 5.
With the Leafs trading three draft picks at the draft to obtain Bolland, a two time Stanley Cup Champion, the club will be highly motivated to get the 27 year old center locked up to a contract extension before the season starts, mostly because his diminished offensive output in Chicago last season will put Toronto in good position to negotiate a good price for themselves.
McClement became a favorite of coach Randy Carlyle last season, with his versatility at both wing and center, along with his defensive and penalty killing abilities. Kulemin scored 23 points mostly in a checking role.
While the Leafs will likely be willing to extend McClement and give him a pay increase from his current $1.5 Million salary, Kulemin will have to find his scoring touch again to get more than $2.8 Million from the Leafs or another NHL team. With the recent departures of Alexander Burmistrov, Sergei Kostitsyn and Ilya Kovalchuk, returning to Russia to play in the KHL will be an option.
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