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With the signing of defenseman Timothy Liljegren and an expected contract extension for RFA Connor Brown, the Toronto Maple Leafs will likely have to make a move or two prior to the start of training camp in early September.
The question that remains is will GM Lou Lamoriello be doing some minor house cleaning to alleviate Toronto’s current roster crunch or is there a more impact move on the horizon.
Liljegren’s three-year entry-level deal and a new Brown deal will put Toronto at the 50 pro contract limit if the 18-year-old defenseman plays in North America as Lamoriello indicated was possible on Wednesday.
With no second buyout window open to the Leafs this summer (because they did not have a player file for salary arbitration), the club is limited to trade options to clear the current logjam.
Getting a team to take the final year of Joffrey Lupul’s contract would likely cost the Leafs a high draft pick, clearing out Eric Fehr’s $2 Million cap hit make necessitate a prospect or lower pick going the other way.
After sitting for all but 13 games last season, Toronto would get next to nothing in return for winger Josh Leivo and slightly more than nothing for blueliners Alexei Marchenko or Martin Marincin.
Lamoriello could seek another Grabner-type deal, looking at teams with a low amount of contracts such as Colorado, New Jersey or Vegas to take players like Rinat Valiev or Tobias Lindberg, who have fallen back on the depth chart, but the move that would solve both the Leafs roster and cap problems would be to move out multiple pieces (that included a significant salary) for defensive help.
Larry Brooks of the New York Post hinted last week that the Rangers have interest in Tyler Bozak, if the Leafs decide to shop the 31-year-old veteran entering the final year of his contract.
Centers are as rare a commodity on the trade market this summer as defensemen, and teams with extra blueliners might be a good fit in a possible deal with Toronto.
New York is not dealing Ryan McDonagh, Brendan Smith, Kevin Shattenkirk or promising youngster Brady Skjei. Veteran Mark Staal’s cap hit and term are not a fit and according to the
Toronto Star’s Kevin McGran, the Leafs have no interest in 30-year-old Nick Holden.
Pittsburgh is a team that may be looking for help up the middle after center Nick Bonino signed a multi-year deal with Nashville, and chatter of the Penguins having interest in Bozak to team up with ex-linemate Phil Kessel does make sense, but does GM Jim Rutherford have a blueliner to give Toronto that will make a deal work?
Carolina would appear to have the right ingredients for a forward-for-defense swap. On Wednesday, the Canes signed defenseman Jaccob Slavin to a seven-year, $37.1 Million contract extension, but they also have three blueliners under the age of 26 (Brett Pesce, Trevor van Riemsdyk and 2015 fifth overall pick Noah Hanifin) in need of a new deal by the end of next season.
GM Ron Francis added winger Justin Williams via free agency and center Markus Kruger through a trade with Vegas, but the Canes likely need more offense to have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs.
Does reuniting the van Riemsdyk brothers make sense???
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