Reports out of Sweden indicate that the Leafs are close to signing goaltender Jhonas Enroth. The 28-year-old was drafted and played for the Buffalo Sabres, before stints with Dallas and Los Angeles.
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Lou Lamoriello may have deviated from his New Jersey ways by giving performance bonuses to Auston Matthews this past week, but the Leafs GM is watching every dollar when it comes to signing restricted free agents and making offers in salary arbitration.
The first overall pick received the maximum amount of bonuses allowable on his three-year entry-level deal totaling $2.85 Million (slightly more than second overall pick Patrick Laine).
Toronto avoided any holdout with RFA forward Josh Leivo and defenseman Connor Carrick, signing both to two-year contracts, but the club locked them up on one-way deals for an AAV under $950,000 (which means neither would carry a cap hit if they were sent to the AHL).
The multi-year deal could dissuade another club from claiming either on waivers and makes both candidates to be exposed to the expansion draft if they play in excess of 40 games next season. The 23-year-old Leivo might be a candidate for expansion, since the Leafs have a bevy of young forwards, but Carrick may be protected if he builds on his success with the Marlies in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Toronto will undoubtedly protect Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner and KHL import Nikita Zaitsev is exempt, so either Carrick, Frank Corrado or Martin Marincin can also be shielded.
The club has two arbitration hearings this week, with Peter Holland on Monday and Frankie Corrado on Tuesday.
After clearing waivers earlier in the week, Holland's representatives submitted an offer of $2.1 Million, while the Leafs countered with an offer of $900,000.
Corrado made $632,500/$67,500 on a two-way deal last season and is asking for a $900,000 one-way deal, while the Leafs countered with the league minimum $575,000 on one-way deal or a $625,000/$150,000 two-way.
While Toronto is playing hardball in arbitration cases and they will likely to result in a settlement sometime this week, they will have to show more flexibility as they did with Matthews if they hope to contend for the services of Jimmy Vesey, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent on August 15.
The Hobey Baker winner will receive offers from multiple teams and they will all likely contain maximum performance bonuses on a one-year entry-level contract, so that the 23-year-old can get a long-term extension next summer. If the Leafs try to be stingy on bonuses as some felt they were doing with Matthews, it is likely that they will not be a consideration in Vesey’s final decision.
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