Toronto forwards Phil Kessel and James van Riesmdyk will play their final game in Sochi in the Bronze medal game against Finland on Saturday in the wake of Team USA’s 1-0 loss to Team Canada Friday afternoon.
Kessel was one of the few American forwards that was able to do anything against the suffocating Canadian defense, using his speed to create space and get scoring chances against Carey Price, while van Riesmdyk played well but was skipped on a couple shifts in the third period when coach
Dan Bylsma shortened his bench in an attempt to tie the game.
The pair of Leafs forwards have stepped up for their country in the tournament, as they have combined for 13 points in five games, with Kessel tied for the tournament lead in goals with five, along with Austria’s Michael Grabner.
Both players are expected to stay in Russia through the closing ceremonies on Sunday and then charter back to North America early Monday morning. The Leafs do not play until next Thursday against the John Tavares-less New York Islanders on Long Island.
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Former Leaf Leo Komarov will likely try to get under the skin of Team USA on Saturday, as the feisty Finnish forward was again a noticeable irritant on Friday, doing his best to distract Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
The 27-year-old forward is likely to return to the NHL after his contract with the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow expires at the end of the season and will be free to talk with any NHL team as he is an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but according to the National Post’s
Michael Traikos, Toronto will get first crack at re-signing their former draft pick.
“We always had it in mind to talk(with the Leafs) again after the season,” Komarov’s agent Mark Gandler. “They wanted Leo back, so it’s not like they snubbed Leo or anything like that. And they’re not upset with Leo and we’re not upset with them. Everything is good and we’ll definitely talk after the season.”
Gandler is not shutting out the possibility of shopping his client around the league for the best deal possible. The offered Komarov a slight raise from his $1.2 Million 2013 salary, but took the offer from Dynamo because it was almost double what the Leafs offered and it gave the winger a better chance to make Finland’s Olympic squad.
“I have a feeling that we will be approached by a whole lot of teams,” Gandler said in a phone interview. “I think there’s money out there, but we will talk to Leafs first, no question about it. We have a good relationship and nothing has changed.”
The Leafs have a number of unrestricted free agent forwards and may not be able to get all of them locked up to new deals. They also will have $2.5 Million in additional cap space, due to the expiration of the buyouts of Darcy Tucker, Colby Armstrong and the salary retention of Ben Scrivens and Matt Frattin.
With all those factors, the path may be clear for the return of the fan favorite.
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