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News regarding the comings and goings with the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to be hot and heavy over the next couple weeks and we will report and comment on everything out there. A number of interesting tidbits have popped up in the last 24 hours:
1. Murray Trade or Buyout?
TSN’s Mike Johnson speculated on Tuesday’s Overdrive the possibility of the Leafs trading goalie Matt Murray to the San Jose Sharks to clear the final year of his contract.
Johnson indicated that the Sharks only have Kaapo Kahkonen signed between the pipes next season.
Analysis: The Sharks are in the midst of clearing salary and may be fortunate to find someone to take on Erik Karlsson’s contract, and if they do, they might be willing to take on a deal like Murray with one year left to serve as a backup to Kahkonen, but it is hard to imagine they will do it for free. It would seem less complicated for the Leafs to buyout the last year of Murray’s deal with just av $687,500 cap penalty for 2023-24, but if GM Brad Treliving can find someone to take Murray’s deal off his hands for little or no cost, the Leafs will sign up for that.
Father’s Day is coming 😎 https://t.co/v2mFIlUtZb
— HockeyProspect.com (@ScoutingService) June 16, 2023
2. Talking To O’Reilly??
According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Treliving has contacted representatives for pending free agent Ryan O’Reilly and told them that they would like to bring him back. The former Conn Smythe winner has not closed the door on coming back to Toronto, but LeBrun believes that O’Reilly has not ruled out anything and that the 32-year-old is arguably the #1 free agent center on the UFA Market.
Elliotte Friedman on Wednesday’s 32 Thoughts podcast speculated that O’Reilly could be a target of the Vancouver Canucks, who cleared a boatload of cap space with the buyout of Oliver Ekman-Larsson earlier this week.
Analysis: Treliving is known to keep a lot of irons in the fire and stay involved on multiple fronts to keep his options open. Let me throw out a bit of speculation here…..the Leafs are or may be negotiating with William Nylander on a new deal….if his asking price is well out of Toronto’s price range and they are forced to move him in the next couple of weeks, then O’Reilly as a top-six option at center or wing at a much lower number is a decent fallback.
3. Schenn Negotiations Continuing
Friedman says that talks continue between the Leafs and pending UFA Luke Schenn. The 33-year-old is looking for a multi-year deal and some trade protection, and after rumors of things being close last week, Vancouver reporter Rick Dhaliwal said that the two sides were far apart.
Analysis: The Leafs need physicality in their lineup and Treliving likes Schenn. Although price is paramount, my sense is the two sides will get things ironed out before July 1.
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The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association announced the 2023 Kraft Hockeyville game will feature the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs. The game will take place on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 at Joe Thornton Community Centre in St. Thomas, Ontario.
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