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Prices Rising On Rentals; Nylander, Kapanen "Doubtful" For World Juniors

November 18, 2015, 4:47 PM ET [808 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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Being at the bottom of the NHL standings may be the price that has to be paid for the Toronto Maple Leafs to be in position to select a top prospect at the 2016 NHL Draft. But one aspect of their early season struggles was the poor performance of players added during the summer.

The grand plan of Leafs management was to bring in veterans on economical short-term deals to fill out the NHL roster and allow the club’s young prospects the time to gain experience in the American Hockey League, while at the same time proving their value during the season and becoming assets that can be flipped, along with holdover unrestricted free agents in defenseman Roman Polak and goaltender James Reimer to contending teams before the Feb. 29th trade deadline.

The problem early on was that most of the additions were not making any kind of impact that would make NHL teams have more than just passing interest, but with Toronto’s improvement in November has come improved play from the likes of Reimer and forward P-A Parenteau, who scored a pair of power-play goals in a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Air Canada Center.



The question in front of Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello is what price can be expected for these players if they continue to perform at their current level.

Here are the list of players whose are unrestricted free agents at the end of the 2015-16 season:

P-A Parenteau – Right Wing – 6 G, 3 A - 9 Pts, Salary - $1.5 million

The 32-year-old winger was bought out by Montreal last summer and after struggling like most of the Leafs in October, has come alive in November with five goals (four on the power play).

In a league where scoring is at a premium, one point can be the difference between making or missing the playoffs and cap room is tight, Parenteau at $1.5M would be a valuable get on special teams and in shootouts.

Expected Return – 2016/17 2nd/3rd round pick

Brad Boyes – Right Wing – 1 G, 6 A - 7 Pts, Salary - $700,000

The Leafs 2000 first-round pick made the club out of training camp off a PTO and has been played 14 of 19 games. Boyes still has the ability to keep up with the pace of the NHL and can play in the bottom six and on the power play, which could make him an inexpensive add to a team looking for veteran depth.

Expected Return – Grade B Prospect or 2016/17 mid-round pick

Nick Spaling – Wing/Center – 0 G, 2 A - 2 Pts, Salary - $2.2 million

Acquired in the Phil Kessel deal, the 26-year-old Spaling has been used mostly in a checking/penalty killing role and to take defensive zone draws along with Tyler Bozak.

Spaling’s salary being over $2 million could affect the return the Leafs could expect, either a lower draft pick or taking back a salary to balance the books, but his defensive abilities could be something that a playoff-bound team would find attractive.

Expected Return – Grade B Prospect or 2016/17 mid-round pick

Shawn Matthias – Wing/Center – 2 G, 4 A - 6 Pts, Salary - $2.3 million

Signed after a career-high 18-goal season in Vancouver, the 27-year-old Mississauga, Ont. native started slow but started being more productive as the Leafs started to win. Size, versatility and experience are all facets of Matthias’ game that will draw interest and he can easily switch from a top six role in Toronto to a depth role with a playoff team.

Expected Return – Grade B Prospect and 2016/17 mid-round pick

Michael Grabner – Right Wing – 0 G, 2 A - 2 Pts, Salary - $3 million

It’s hard to believe that Grabner once scored 34 goals in a season and won the Calder Trophy. The 28-year-old forward was acquired on the opening day of training camp for five minor leaguers, allowing the New York Islanders to shed his $3 million cap-hit and the Leafs to clear a handful of pro contracts.

Grabner has great speed and is a threat as a penalty killer, but being a scoring threat appears to be a thing of the past. The aspect that will prevent Toronto from getting any significant return is the $5 million salary, which even pro-rated at the end of the season may scare off any interested team.

Expected Return – 2016/17 mid-to-late round pick

Roman Polak – Defense – 0 G, 3 A - 3 Pts, Salary - $2.75 million

Polak makes up from average skating ability with toughness, the ability to kill penalties and clear the front of the net. Defensemen will be a rare commodity late in the season and the Leafs should be able to get overpaid for the pending free agent’s services.

Remember, the Black Hawks gave up two second-round picks for a 40-year-old Kimmo Timonen.

Expected Return – Grade A Prospect or 2016/17 2nd round pick

James Reimer – Goaltender – 2.19 GAA, 6-2-3 record, .930 save percentage, Salary - $2.3 million

If teams are looking for a stop-gap and do not want to pick up someone with years remaining on their contracts like Semyon Varlamov or Kari Lehtonen, Reimer would be a less costly option without the long-term commitment.

The 27-year-old is not likely to return to Toronto after this season without a contract extension guaranteeing his status as the starting goaltender and impressive numbers in relief of Jonathan Bernier might increase interest, but the return for Reimer will be contingent on whether NHL teams looking for a veteran backup, someone capable of taking over as the starter or an injury replacement.

Expected Return - Grade A Prospect or 2016/17 2nd round pick

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The Maple Leafs may have as many as six prospects playing in the upcoming World Junior Tournament in Helsinki next month, but that number could be smaller if the club does not give permission to Marlies forwards William Nylander or Kasperi Kapanen to head to Europe.

Both youngsters played for their countries in the 2015 World Junior in Toronto/Montreal last December and are eligible to play as 19-year-olds, but TSN’s Bob McKenzie indicates that Toronto management has not given any thought of allowing them to play for Sweden and host country Finland.

The Leafs reportedly like how Nylander (who leads their AHL affiliate with 19 points) and Kapanen(with 4 goals in 9 games) are doing with the Marlies and do not want to disrupt their progress, but it would be rather short-sighted of the organization to prevent them from playing against the top young talent in the world over the span of 10 days.

The Marlies would be without both about three weeks(December 18 to January 8), which would encompass about eight games for the Marlies, who are atop the AHL’s North Division.

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