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Is Thornton a viable option for Leafs center gap??

June 19, 2018, 6:08 PM ET [385 Comments]
Mike Augello
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The moves made by the Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers and San Jose Sharks on Tuesday reveal quite a lot regarding the path of the three NHL clubs going into NHL Draft weekend and the summer trade and free agent season.

The Sens look to be in full rebuild mode and it will not be surprising in the coming weeks to see the likes of Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci, Bobby Ryan and/or Zack Smith heading out of the nation’s capital for mostly financial reasons.

The trade of Mike Hoffman was an obvious and necessary move for Ottawa (with the revelations revealed last week), but the return of Mikkel Boedker is far below what Sens GM Pierre Dorion was looking to get at the deadline or prior to last week.

Even worse for the Senators, they will now have to face Hoffman four times a year, as the Sharks sent the winger to the Florida Panthers for a package of draft picks.

Panthers GM Dale Tallon indicated following the deal that he had spoken to Dorion about Hoffman and the asking price was higher than what they had to give up to the Sharks, which indicates that the Sens might do the same for some of their other available players if Atlantic Division rivals came calling (like if the Leafs expressing interest in Karlsson).

The aspect of today’s transactions that might have the greatest effect on the Toronto Maple Leafs was the ability of Sharks GM Doug Wilson to clear out $4 Million in cap space in Boedker, who scored 15 goals in his second year in San Jose and had two years remaining on his four-year contract.

The Sharks are expected to be strong contenders in the John Tavares sweepstakes if the pending free agent center decides to test the market and chat with other clubs next week.

According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the Leafs have put a video presentation together to woo the free agent center to Toronto (include some current members of the club) if he will listen to offers, but just as GM Kyle Dubas is preparing for the possibility of Tavares hitting the open market, the Leafs have to be looking at other options if he re-signs with the Islanders or goes to San Jose.

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One possible option that has been in the rumor mill most of the last year is Joe Thornton. The 38-year-old center missed 35 games and all of the postseason after signing a one-year, $8 Million deal last summer.

The Sharks have just over $11 Million in available cap space per Cap Friendly (and will have more with the salary cap likely going up), but will their be room for Thornton if Tavares signs in San Jose even with him indicating that he would take a hometown discount on a new deal.

The Leafs continue to be a viable option for the London, ON native if he is open to moving eastward as the longtime linemate of Patrick Marleau did last July. Thornton would likely be a welcome addition to Mike Babcock, who he played for at the 2010 Olympics and 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and Toronto has a large amount of cap space next season to afford him on a one-year deal, but all this could all fall through if the Sharks do not get Tavares or Toronto does.

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