|
Leafs promote Pridham; Kane deal makes chances of JVR return slim to none |
|
|
|
|
|
For the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter
The whirlwind of changes continue in the world of the management of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Following the departure of GM Lou Lamoriello on Monday and the announcement that Asst. GM Mark Hunter and the club will go their separate ways on Tuesday, as the club announced on Wednesday that capologist Brandon Pridham has been promoted to Assistant General Manager.
Pridham, 44, has been with the Leafs for nearly four years after leaving the NHL offices, where he worked in the Central Registry, Central Scouting and as a liaison for teams regarding issues involving the collective bargaining agreement and the league’s salary cap, and has served as an Assistant to the General Manager.
Pridham will continue in his role to assist with salary cap analysis, contract negotiations and collective bargaining agreement interpretation for the team, which essentially means that he has been given a promotion with essentially no change in his responsibilities.
“Brandon’s promotion to Assistant General Manager is most deserving,” Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said in a press release. “Working closely with him for the last four seasons has allowed me to see the value that he brings to our program across many domains.”
*******
Phrases that you will hear a lot during the summer, especially related to free agency and player salaries are “comparables” and “domino effect”.
Agents alike will undoubtedly use the existing or new contracts of players similar in style, ability and age to establish an asking price for their client.
With that being the case, there had to be champagne corks flying at the offices of James van Riemsdyk’s representatives on Tuesday, when the news came down that San Jose had signed winger Evander Kane to a seven-year deal for $7 Million per season.
Kane will be 27 when next season begins, scored 29 goals between Buffalo and San Jose last season and played well for the Sharks in the post-season, but there has to be questions about him based on problems he had with teammates in Winnipeg and the off the ice incidents while with the Sabres.
Van Riemsdyk put up a career-high 36 goals last season and with Kane setting the market at a price tag higher than the $6 Million AAV that Kyle Okposo, Milan Lucic and Loui Eriksson signed for two years ago, it is likely that the Leafs leading goal scorer will get close to Kane’s $7 Million AAV.
Even though the chatter has dissipated since the end of the regular season, there was some thought that Toronto might entertain bringing back the big winger if he were open to a shorter-term deal or taking a home town discount, but the combination of escalating prices in free agency and the Leafs organizational depth at wing look to make the chances of van Riemsdyk returning miniscule.
Barring any additions from outside the organization, Toronto will have Patrick Marleau, Zach Hyman, Andreas Johnsson, Josh Leivo, Matt Martin and possibly Kasperi Kapanen (if Mike Babcock choses to shift him over from the right side) at left wing entering training camp in September.
With Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander looking for new contracts and the club possibly looking to allocate cap space to upgrade their blueline, signing van Riemsdyk simply cannot be done.
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»