With Christmas and the New Year in the rear view mirror, the normalcy of the NHL schedule has begun to settle back in. The holiday trade freeze has been put away with the mistletoe and on January 1, NHL clubs can start to negotiate and re-sign players who had been signed to one-year deals.
The Maple Leafs have reaped benefits from the summer signings of forwards Mike Santorelli and Daniel Winnik.
Santorelli was expected to be more of a depth player after an injury-shortened season with his hometown Vancouver Canucks, but the 29-year-old has jumped up into a top-six role and been one of the few Leafs forwards to play with conscientiousness at both ends of the ice.
Playing mostly with Nazem Kadri, Santorelli is on pace to eclipse his career-high 41 points and is also in line to get a significant raise from the $1.5 Million salary he signed for in early July.
Winnik was signed in late July for an economical $1.3 Million after spending two seasons with the Anaheim Ducks. The Toronto native contributed unexpected offensive numbers early in the season, but the points have slowed since the 29-year-old returned from an awkward fall in Colorado in early November.
The addition of versatile Winnik was more aimed towards providing defensive support up front and improving Toronto’s penalty killing, which is 12th in the NHL this season after dropping to the bottom of the league in 2013-14.
David Booth was another addition that signed a short-term deal in hopes of jump starting his NHL career, but the former 30-goal scorer suffered a broken foot during training camp and has only scored one goal in 17 games since returning to the lineup.
There is no indication that Leafs GM Dave Nonis plans to start negotiations with Santorelli or Winnik’s representatives before the end of the season. It is very possible that the organization is looking at them as a stop-gap signing like Mason Raymond and will allow them to sign elsewhere if their price tag becomes out of line.
Raymond signed a one year, $1 Million deal signed just prior to the ’13 training camp, a deal that was mutually beneficial to Toronto and the ex-Canuck, who scored 19 goals last season and signed a long-term deal with Calgary last summer.
This could become a successful model for the Leafs going forward. The days of the impact player reaching unrestricted free agency may be a thing of the past, but there will continue to be a plethora of quality role players on the market. Toronto can offer one thing above other markets and that is exposure.
Nonis and future Leafs GM’s may be able to use the exposure gleaned from the Toronto market as an attractive commodity for perspective free agents to show off their talents, as long as they sign with the Blue and White for a lower price.
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The Maple Leafs entered the final game of 2014 relatively healthy, with Leo Komarov returning after missing a month with concussion issues and Jonathan Bernier back in the lineup after a bout with the flu, but the 4-3 shootout victory on New Year's Eve in Boston was costly, as Toronto will likely be without three starters when they take on the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Friday.
The extent of Joffrey Lupul and Peter Holland's injuries have yet to be determined, but both have been sent back to Toronto for medical evaluation. Toronto may also be without center Nazem Kadri as well, who left the ice briefly against the Bruins on Wednesday after absorbing a hit from Boston's Kevan Miller, did not skate on Thursday and is questionable for Friday.
Center Greg McKegg has been recalled from the AHL Toronto Marlies and winger Richard Panik is expected to be available after missing the last two games after colliding with Florida's Scottie Upshall. With the possibility of both Holland and Kadri being out, head coach Randy Carlyle has only Tyler Bozak, Trevor Smith and McKegg as natural centers available to him and could choose to move one of Komarov, Santorelli or Winnik to the middle.
Bernier will get his second straight start on Friday night in the first of back-to-back games, while Manitoba native James Reimer will be between the pipes against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
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