Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis is not concerned about having enough cap space to get defenseman Cody Franson and Nazem Kadri signed before the start of training camp in mid-September.
"From our standpoint, we have enough cap space in our minds to get both players signed and that's what we intend to do," Nonis told NHL.com’s
Dan Rosen on Friday. "There are definitely ways of making it work. That's our intention."
The Leafs GM is unconcerned that there have been large gaps in time between discussions with Kadri and Franson’s representatives, as both sides play a game of cat and mouse waiting for the other side to make the next move.
"There have been quiet periods, but that doesn't bother me at all. That's par for the course in these types of situations.” Nonis said. “I also think it's a different year a little bit with the cap dropping [from $70.2 million to $64.3 million]. I think there is recalibration that needs to take place on both sides. You look around the league and I think that's happening. There are a lot of good UFA's that aren't signed because of the amount of money left in the marketplace."
While his club has $4.895 Million under the salary cap, Nonis does have more flexibility, as the Leafs can exceed the $64.3 Million ceiling by as much as $6.4 Million until the start of the regular season in early October.
The possibility of making a trade before the season is still open, as well as demoting players to the AHL to make room, but under the new collective bargaining agreement, the maximum amount of salary that can buried is $925,000. If the Leafs demoted defenseman John-Michael Liles, $2.95 Million of his $3.875 Million salary for 2013-14 would still count against Toronto’s salary cap.
Other more desperate moves like carrying less than 23 players at the start of the season to save cap space are possible, as the club has the luxury to have their AHL affiliate just down the street from the Air Canada Center, but it appears that the plan is to use the factor of limited available cap space to get the two players to take shorter term deals for less money, in hopes of putting another solid season in the books and improving their negotiating strength next summer, when the salary cap is expected to increase significantly.
Nonis also indicated that there have been no contract talks to this point with team captain and pending unrestricted free agent Dion Phaneuf.
"We've been focusing on other issues right now." Nonis said."Obviously Dion is a core part of our team, he's our captain. He's fit well into Toronto and our group and there's no reason to think he won't be here for the long run.”
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