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Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger •
With the unrestricted free agent signing period beginning on July 1st, fans expecting Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs to make significant signings are going to be just as disappointed as the fans who expected them to trade up at the NHL draft to get John Tavares or Brayden Schenn. Burke may feign interest in the big ticket free-agents like Jay Bouwmeester,Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Mike Cammalleri or Mike Komisarek, but in the end, Burke's real intention maybe to find more reasonably priced, second level free agents.
One such player that might fit the bill is Francois Beauchemin, who is coming off a knee injury that limited him to 20 games in the 2008-09. Beauchemin was brought to Anaheim by Burke in 2005 and was an integral part of the Stanley Cup victory in 2007. At 29 years old, he is young enough to still be an effective player when the Leafs are ready to contend in a few years. With the injury and his penchant being more of a defensive nature, Beauchemin's salary demands will probably be along the lines of Jeff Finger's 4 year, $14 Million contract.
A move like bringing in Beauchemin makes perfect sense, since the trade of veteran Tomas Kaberle is likely to happen as soon as the free agent defensemen start signing. It is unlikely that any team trading for Kaberle will trade a defenseman in return, so a replacement like Beauchemin will be needed. Look for this signing to happen before the July 4th holiday.
From the desk of Mike "In Buffalo" Augello
Listen to the interview with Eklund and Jeff Marek, recorded last night discussing the draft and unrestricted free agency on Talkshoe.com id 20944.
One such player that might fit the bill is Francois Beauchemin, who is coming off a knee injury that limited him to 20 games in the 2008-09. Beauchemin was brought to Anaheim by Burke in 2005 and was an integral part of the Stanley Cup victory in 2007. At 29 years old, he is young enough to still be an effective player when the Leafs are ready to contend in a few years. With the injury and his penchant being more of a defensive nature, Beauchemin's salary demands will probably be along the lines of Jeff Finger's 4 year, $14 Million contract.
A move like bringing in Beauchemin makes perfect sense, since the trade of veteran Tomas Kaberle is likely to happen as soon as the free agent defensemen start signing. It is unlikely that any team trading for Kaberle will trade a defenseman in return, so a replacement like Beauchemin will be needed. Look for this signing to happen before the July 4th holiday.
From the desk of Mike "In Buffalo" Augello
Listen to the interview with Eklund and Jeff Marek, recorded last night discussing the draft and unrestricted free agency on Talkshoe.com id 20944.
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