With the Maple Leafs agreeing to contracts with restricted free agents Cody Franson and James Reimer prior to their arbitration hearings last week, the question is whether both players remain in Blue and White through next season or should keep their bags packed for a potential move.
Franson is the more likely of the two to be moved prior to next season’s trade deadline since he will be an unrestricted free agent next July and undoubtedly will attract a long-term, big money contract from another club that Toronto has been unwilling to give the last three seasons.
A deal prior to the start of training camp would give the Leafs only five experienced defenseman(Dion Phaneuf, Roman Polak, Stephane Robidas, Morgan Rielly and RFA Jake Gardiner) which means having to sign another free agent(UFA Michael Del Zotto perhaps) or relying on rookies Petter Granberg, Stuart Percy or Matt Finn to play on the bottom pairing.
Reimer’s departure does not appear imminent after the playoff debacle against Boston and subpar performance after the Olympic break last season sullied his reputation around the league.
In his Sunday column, The Toronto Sun’s
Steve Simmons indicates that the Leafs could get more bang for their buck from their goaltending tandem, as the combined cap hit of Reimer and starter Jonathan Bernier($5.2 Million) will be lower than15 NHL starting goaltenders next season.
Toronto could be even more fortunate if Reimer rebounds (pardon the pun) and performs as he did in 2013. That would re-establish his value as a potential starter option to other clubs and open up the possibility of the Leafs dealing the Morweena, MB native next summer with a year remaining on his contract at an inexpensive $2.3 Million.
Simmons reports that a contributing factor to the recent purge of Leafs management were clashes in philosophy between Brendan Shanahan and dismissed assistant GM Dave Poulin since he joined the organization last April, to the point that Poulin knew that his days were numbered.
Claude Loiselle, who was dismissed along with Poulin and may be a candidate for Shanny’s old job as the head of the NHL’s Department Of Player Safety, was caught unaware and did not believe that any changes would include him.
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