The common theme of the speculation entering the weekend prior to the NHL Draft in Sunrise, FL is that the Toronto Maple Leafs will have to either lower their demands and/or pick up some of the tab on the contracts of defenseman Dion Phaneuf, forwards Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak or Joffrey Lupul if they hope to move them this summer.
This is likely a tactic of rival general managers to place pressure on the club’s management led by Brendan Shanahan to ask for less for players and have Toronto retain salary to lessen the financial impact on acquiring clubs with the league’s salary cap expected to marginally increase this summer.
There is almost no doubt that the Leafs would prefer to go forward without most or all of their flawed core group, in party to alleviate the annual cap hit of $24.45 Million for Kessel, Phaneuf, Bozak and Lupul, but more importantly because they are in the prime of their careers and could hinder Toronto in positioning themselves to draft near the top of the first round in the near future, thus stunting the rebuilding plan of Shanahan and clouding the first few years of Mike Babcock’s tenure.
The short term structure of the salary cap should not really be a concern for the Leafs, as they should have a great deal of flexibility by moving out players and a cushion with room created by Nathan Horton’s $5.3 Million being placed on LTIR, but taking back players with two or three years left on contracts would be more palatable to help grease the wheels of a potential deal than retaining salary.
Retaining salary would have cap ramifications for the length of the term remaining on contracts being traded, meaning that if the Leafs agreed to pay 25% of Kessel’s $8 Million salary to get a deal done, they would be taking a $2 Million cap hit until the end of the 2021-22 season.
All NHL teams can pay a portion on a maximum of three player contracts per season. Currently the Leafs are paying $200,000 of Carl Gunnarsson’s $3.15 Million salary for the 2015-16 season. If they have to pay a significant chunk of Lupul’s $5.25 Million salary to move the oft-injured winger, that would leave them with the ability to return money on one of Kessel and Phaneuf. *******
Have the Red Wings lost interest in Dion Phaneuf?
According to Detroit reporter Ansar Khan, the club is not pursuing trying to acquire the Leafs defenseman. This again could be a case of negotiating-through-the-media by Detroit GM Ken Holland, whose offer of Stephen Weiss, defenseman Brendan Smith and oft-injured 23-year-old forward prospect Teemu Pulkkinen for Phaneuf was turned down prior to the trade deadline last March.
The Wings may have interest in free agent defensemen like Mike Green and former Leaf Cody Franson, which would not require them to give up young assets like former first round pick Anthony Mantha or the 19th overall selection, but the expected price tag for both right-hand shooting defenseman is likely to exceed $5 Million per season and may force the Wings to buyout the last three years of Weiss’s five-year, $24.5 Million contract, which would mean a cap hit of $1.77 Million for the next six years.
Other NHL clubs with a need for a top four defenseman (Dallas, Colorado, Anaheim) are potential destinations for Phaneuf, but it is likely that you have not heard the last of the Phaneuf-to-Detroit rumors.
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TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported on Friday that a contractual framework is in place between the Leafs and forward Zach Hyman, who was acquired from the Florida Panthers along with a 2017 conditional 7th round pick for center Greg McKegg.
The 23-year-old University of Michigan product did not sign with the Panthers because they would not burn the first year of his two-year contract at the end of last season(as Toronto did with undrafted NCAA product Casey Bailey) and will be given a legitimate shot at making the Leafs at training camp in September.
McKegg(who played half a season under Director of Player Personnel Mark Hunter in London) may have been an expendable commodity with centers Frederik Gauthier and Carter Verhaeghe turning 20 and signed to entry-level deals, as well as the option of moving 2014 top pick William Nylander to the middle next season.
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The Leafs have two first round picks at #4 and #24, but have no second rounder and will not select again until their pick in the 3rd round(65th overall). It is imperative for the club to begin their rebuild by hitting on their first round selections, but to find players who can be contributors at the NHL level in the lower rounds.
With former GM’s Mark Hunter(London), Kyle Dubas(SSM), Jim Paliafito(Saginaw) and former Knights Director of Scouting Lindsay Hofford as part of the talent evaluation apparatus, it is not a stretch to assume that the Leafs will attempt to pluck some hidden gems out of the OHL that they know so well.
One such gem could be Soo winger Zachary Senyshyn, who scored 26 goals in his first full season with the Greyhounds. The Leafs know a lot about the 18-year-old Nepean, ON native, as he was brought to the Soo by Dubas before leaving for Toronto last spring and was coached by new Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe.
A natural athlete with exceptional skating ability, Senyshyn is expected to be a mid-to-late second round pick, but could be there when the Leafs pick at #65.
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