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GM Lou Lamoriello emphasized internal competition as an important factor in the future development of the Toronto Maple Leafs and some of the players that are expected to fight for jobs will be trying to prove that they are NHL ready, as the Toronto Marlies, who take on the Syracuse Crunch in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Eastern Conference Quarter-Final at the Onondaga War Memorial Arena on Friday.
Forwards Kasperi Kapanen, Kerby Rychel, Brendan Leipsic and Frederik Gauthier, defensemen Travis Dermott and Andrew Nielsen may have a legitimate chance to make the Maple Leafs depending on what maneuvers Lamoriello makes over the summer, not only because they have paid their dues in the American Hockey League, but also because the salary on their entry-level contract is inexpensive.
Kapanen scored a pair of goals in the first round against Washington and registered 43 points in 43 games in his second AHL season. The Leafs did not burn a year of Kapanen’s contract last season by playing him more than 10 games and the 20-year-old still is under contract for another two years at $863,333.
Rychel was acquired last June from Columbus in exchange for defenseman Scott Harrington, led the Marlies with 52 points (19 goals, 33 assists) and makes less than $900,000 for another year, but may be exposed in the upcoming expansion draft.
William Nylander vs Andrei Vasilevskiy at the Worlds, Russia beats Sweden 2-1 in a SO. #Leafs pic.twitter.com/JzQT3AuCAk
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) May 5, 2017
Leipsic scored 51 points in 49 games in an injury plagued season for the Marlies and is a restricted free agent this summer. The 22-year-old will likely re-sign for less than $1 Million on a short-term deal and could be vulnerable in the expansion draft, but his durability to play in the NHL may be in question at 5’9… 181 lbs.
Gauthier appears to be the heir apparent for the Leafs fourth line center spot if veteran Brian Boyle is not re-signed, with his size and improving ability in the faceoff circle, but also because Boyle will likely demand a salary close to or more than $2 Million, while Gauthier has one more year at $863,333.
Dermott and Nielsen’s maturity level and how prepared they are to make the jump will take precedence over salary considerations. Dermott is smaller in stature but strong, skates well and makes smart decisions, while Nielsen is more aggressive and has a booming shot, but needs more time to round out his game.
With the escalating salaries for blueliners, the trade market reaching obscene levels and a thin free agent class this summer, adding a young defenseman making less than $1 Million for another two seasons would counterbalance the price Toronto may have to pay if the only way to upgrade the blueline is to spend big dollars on a free agent.
Toronto has around $12 Million in available cap space after the bonuses earned by rookies Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Connor Brown and Nikita Zaitsev, with another $10.55 Million potentially being available when Nathan Horton and Joffrey Lupul are assigned to LTIR.
The Leafs have to keep their cap flexibility this summer (one of the reasons why winger James van Riemsdyk may be moved this offseason) and the more young players that can take the next step, the more room Toronto will have to spend money and acquire difference makers outside the organization.
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Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe will go with the same lineup that won in triple overtime against Albany one week ago. Kasimir Kaskisuo will get his third AHL playoff start in a row and Kapanen is expected to return to the lineup after practicing all week and having no after effects of being elbowed in the head by Devils defenseman Seth Helgeson last Friday. *******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.******* KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information click here.