There will be a number of stories that fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs will follow with interest at training camp next month.
But more intriguing than how quickly Auston Matthews will acclimate himself to the NHL or if Mitch Marner will be strong enough to crack the Leafs lineup will be what GM Lou Lamoriello will do with Joffrey Lupul.
The veteran forward turns 33 in late September, had another injury plagued year (11 goals and three assists in 46 games) and remains the highest cap hit on the Toronto roster at $5.25 Million for another two seasons.
Lamoriello was not forthcoming about the club’s intentions towards Lupul when questioned after last season and based on the mass exodus implemented over the two seasons since Brendan Shanahan took over as Team President, there has been a great deal of speculation of what the Leafs will do with the winger.
The second summer buyout window created by players going to arbitration passed without incident, so Toronto has only a few realistic ways to deal with Lupul.
1.
Trade – With two years remaining at a relatively high cap hit, the trade options available to the Leafs would be to hope Lupul can stay healthy and have a good season, which would make him an attractive add for a contender at the deadline, swap him for an equally onerous contract at some point during the year or move him to a team that has room under the cap.
The chances of Lupul staying healthy are slim (as he has never been able to throughout his career), but there are enough high-priced contracts on other teams that swapping money for money may be possible.
The trade would have to address an area of need for Toronto, such as defense or goaltending.
Dallas has Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi making cumulatively over $10 million for the next two years and could be willing to move one, while Calgary might want to move on from the final year of Dennis Wideman’s contract.
A deal to a club looking to reach the cap floor would likely cost Toronto a draft pick or prospect, as it did with Chicago sending Teuvo Teravainen to Carolina to take the final year of Bryan Bickell’s $4 Million contract.
2.
Banishment/Buyout – Lamoriello could repeat the same plan of action that he implemented with defenseman Stephane Robidas, but the difficulty with that is Robidas was 38 and had two years remaining on a contract that would not produce any freeing of cap space if bought out or would not earn the blueliner any money if he retired.
Lupul may not cooperate as Robidas apparently did since he may want to play past the life of his contract with Toronto. A season completely dormant could prevent him finding another team to give him an opportunity.
If Lupul was amenable to being “Robida-ed”, the Leafs could buyout the final year of his contract next June. The last year has a salary of $3.75 Million, which would result in a $1.25 Million cap hit spread over two seasons.
3.
Expansion/Buyout – The expansion draft might be an opportunity for Lupul to extend his career elsewhere. The Leafs have to expose two forwards who are under contract next summer and played in 40 or more NHL games in 2016-17 or a combined 70 or more NHL games last and this season.
With 46 games played in 2015-16, Lupul would have to play at least 24 games to qualify for being exposed to the expansion draft.
It is possible that the Leafs would play him for 24 games and shut him down for the season, as they did with defenseman Jared Cowen after the Dion Phaneuf last February.
There is no guarantee that the Las Vegas franchise would pick Lupul, which is why his being healthy would be necessary, as it would allow the Leafs to buy him out after the draft.
surveys
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Following up on a recent report regarding the status of soon-to-be free agent forward Jimmy Vesey,
reporter Adrian Dater says that the year-long saga may come down to a choice between Toronto, Chicago and possibly Tampa Bay for the Hobey Baker Award winner.
Dater indicates that GM Lou Lamoriello’s “
still-close ties to Eastern U.S. College hockey gives the Leafs a formidable recruiting presence for Vesey”, but also says that Hawks captain Jonathan Toews will be utilized as a recruiting tool on August 15th.
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