There were questions about how the Maple Leafs unconventional management structure would handle the week leading up to the NHL Draft with the club selecting twice in the first round and teams inquiring about trades for Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf and others. It appears that the responsibilities will be divvied up.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the club communicated to other NHL clubs last week that trade discussions should be directed to assistant GM Kyle Dubas, while Director of Player Personnel Mark Hunter concentrates on preparations for the draft.
This does not necessarily mean that the 28-year-old former Soo Greyhounds GM will be operating autonomously, but that he will be the contact person for potential trade talks and will consult with Team President Brendan Shanahan.
This setup appears to be a temporary measure until after July 1, when GM candidates such as Mike Futa or George McPhee would be free to join the club.
In a continuation of negotiating trade perimeters through the media, the Leafs are said to now be willing to discuss taking back salary in a deal for Kessel. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that rival team executives indicated that Toronto would have to eat a significant portion of the winger’s $8 Million salary to get a deal done, but the Leafs would prefer that in the form of a bad contract lasting three or four years during the club’s rebuild instead of taking a cap hit of $1 or 2 Million for the full length of the contract.
Friedman also indicates that Friday’s trade of center Greg McKegg for NCAA prospect Zach Hyman could be the first of many moves involving organization prospects drafted by Brian Burke and Dave Nonis. Other AHLers like defenseman Andrew MacWilliam may be available, which follows the organizational cleansing that has occurred under Shanahan in the last 14 months.
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Reports indicate that former Leafs GM Dave Nonis will not be out of work for long, as he is expected to join the Anaheim Ducks as a senior advisor. Nonis was dismissed by Toronto in mid-April and according to the Sun’s Steve Simmons, the Ducks will not be able to hire him until after July 1 due to his knowledge of the Leafs plans leading up to the NHL Draft.
In his Sunday column, the Sun’s Steve Simmons reports that both defenseman Noah Hanifin and center Dylan Strome could be on the board at #4 when the Leafs pick next Friday.
For that scenario to occur, the Coyotes would either select Mitch Marner or trade down with another club interested in selecting Marner or Brandon defenseman Ivan Provorov. The Marner scenario is unlikely but teams such as Carolina at #5 and Columbus at #8 are in desperate need of a difference making blueliner and could be prepared to move picks or players to trade up.
Simmons also reports that both Brendan Shanahan and Mike Babcock are on board with moving Phil Kessel, but not for the sake of getting him off the team. Getting good value back for the Leafs leading scorer is an essential part of the club's rebuilding plan.
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Leafs draft pick Max Everson has been denied an extension of his NCAA eligibility to play with Harvard next season. The 21-year-old defenseman was selected 203rd overall in 2011 and missed most of the Crimson’s 2012 season due to an academic cheating scandal.
Toronto has until August 15th to sign Everson with the completion of his college career or he will become an unrestricted free agent.
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