This blog will be updated throughout the first round of the NHL Draft with the latest news, updates and rumors that may impact the Maple Leafs
According to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman will consider a sign-and-trade deal with Steven Stamkos to get the free agent center an eight-year on a new contract.
10:30pm
Mike's Analysis
The Detroit Red Wings clearing the $7.5 Million cap hit of Pavel Datsyuk's contract does give them the cap room to pursue Steven Stamkos, but if you look at it from the point of view of the free agent center and his representatives at Newport Sports, signing in Detroit makes little sense.
While other interested teams like Buffalo and Toronto are ascending, with young prospects Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews, the Red Wings have question marks in goal, a subpar defense that still has not recovered from the absence of Nicklas Lidstrom.
9pm
The Maple Leafs as expected select Scottsdale, AZ native Auston Matthews with the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
"Obviously we've known what we were doing for awhile here. We earned the right by losing as much as we did to get the pick." Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. "(Matthews) is a kid, so I don't know how long it is going to take. You see lots of kids go lots of places in the league and we need to surround him with some good veterans."
Babcock indicated that he thinks that he has veterans who can provide support to Matthews, but that the club could use more.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs draft on Day 1 will be over quickly, as they will select Auston Matthews with the top overall selection at the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, NY.
After that, GM Lou Lamoriello and his staff will have the rest of the night to work on deals with other NHL clubs. Likely trade options are center Tyler Bozak and goaltender Jonathan Bernier, although moving Bernier may be difficult if the Calgary Flames pull off a deal for a veteran goalie like Ben Bishop or Jimmy Howard.
The Tampa Bay Lightning began taking care of some of their unsigned free agents, as forwards JT Brown and Cedric Paquette signed two-year, one-way deals totalling over $2 Million per season.
GM Steve Yzerman still has RFA's Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Alex Killorn and Nikita Nesterov to sign and the fact that he is allocating funds for the 2016-17 season and not maintaining some financial flexibility may be another indicator that unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos is headed out of Tampa.
Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter
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