The New York Rangers re-signing of defenseman Marc Staal to a six-year contract extension on Saturday not only means that another target for the 2015 free agent class is off the market, but that the price of players who potentially could be available will likely go up.
One of those players is Leafs defenseman Cody Franson.
The 28-year-old Staal is a cornerstone on the Rangers blueline along with Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh and reportedly gave New York a hometown discount to stay in the Big Apple. Staal’s deal has an AAV of $5.7 Million through the 2020-21 season, which is just under the amount that the Washington Capitals signed Matt Niskanen(the most sought after blueliner of the 2014 class) for last July.
The price the Rangers paid for a defenseman whose strengths lie more in the defensive zone will likely have ripple effects this summer when offensively adept blueliners like Johnny Boychuk, Mike Green and Franson hit the open market, since they traditionally attract higher salaries.
The potential of the salary cap going up to $73 Million will also contribute to prices escalating, which makes it a more difficult path for the Maple Leafs to navigate if they intend to re-sign Franson to a long-term deal.
The negotiating history between Toronto and Franson has been tumultuous. The 27-year-old has signed three one-year deals with the Leafs since being acquired from Nashville in July 2011.
After playing in Sweden during the NHL Lockout, the big blueliner debated staying in Europe prior to signing with Toronto just before the start of the season. In the summer of 2013, Franson opted to not agree to salary arbitration in hopes of getting a long-term deal, which led to a holdout that was finally resolved with a deal for $2 Million in the last week of training camp.
The two sides avoided arbitration last summer, as the BC native accepted a one-year, $3.3 Million contract and the opportunity to be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2015. Franson will likely reap the financial rewards as he is putting up his best career offensive numbers this season, leading Toronto in defensive scoring with six goals and 21 assists.
The Leafs had the opportunity to negotiate with Franson’s representatives starting in January, but there has been no contact between the two sides and comments made by GM Dave Nonis in December are indicative of the club wanting to let the season play out.
Toronto is not in a position to sign Franson to a deal for the type of money he would get as a UFA with the long-term contracts of Dion Phaneuf and Jake Gardiner taking up over $11 Million in cap space for the next four seasons.
If the Leafs have designs on locking up the right-handed shooting defenseman long term, it would have to go hand-in-hand with moving either Phaneuf or Gardiner at the trade deadline or over the summer to make room.
The current landscape of the league regarding defensemen appears to set up well for Toronto if they decide to shop Franson at the deadline as a rent-a-player. Pittsburgh is looking to bolster their blueline after losing Olli Maatta for the season with a shoulder injury, Los Angeles is looking for defensive reinforcements with the likelihood that Slava Voynov will not be available and Detroit has been looking for a right-handed shooting defenseman since the start of the season.
It is less likely that the other top pending UFA’s will be moved prior to March 2, since the addition of Boychuk has been a key to the Islanders resurgence. The Capitals could also be leery of tinkering with a winning formula and would have a tough time finding a team willing to take on all of Green’s $6 Million salary.
Franson would undoubtedly be the most sought after player in a group of available defensemen that include Edmonton’s Jeff Petry, Arizona’s Zbenyk Michalek, Ottawa’s Marc Methot and Carolina’s Andrej Sekera and depending on how many teams express interest, Toronto could drive up the price to get a late first round pick in return but more realistically, the Leafs would get a second-round pick (they don’t have theirs in 2015) and a prospect.
*******
The Leafs finish up their disastrous road trip in St. Louis on Saturday, taking on a Blues club who is battling with Nashville and Chicago for playoff positioning in the NHL's Central Division. St. Louis is 27-13-4 on the season, six points in back of the Predators and tied with the Hawks.
Toronto was outscored 9-1 in losses to the Kings, Ducks and Sharks in the California leg of their four-game Western road swing and have gone 3-11-0 since December 16.
The contest marks the first time that defensemen Carl Gunnarsson and Roman Polak play their former teams since they were traded for one another at the NHL Draft last June.
Jonathan Bernier will get the start for the Leafs and forward David Booth is expected to return to the lineup after suffering a broken nose against Anaheim on Wednesday.
*******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.*******
For Those on Twitter: Follow @mikeinbuffalo
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.