The interview process for pending free agents opened up on Wednesday, and Mark Fayne is among those receiving plenty of interest.
The 27-year-old defenseman seems to be a hot commodity on the open market, as 6-7 teams have reportedly already called about his services, with the Edmonton Oilers among them.
Oilers to meet with Mark Fayne camp thursday. 27yrs 6-3 rh shut down guy. 6 -7 teams interested. Likely wants 4-5 yr deal.
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) June 25, 2014Fayne is one of the more underrated defenseman in the league, and with this year's free agent crop very weak on defense, he figures to be paid quite well in the coming days.
Lou Lamoriello has said several times he'd like to re-sign Fayne, but given the team's log jam on defense and pressing need to add some scoring help up front, I could see the team letting Fayne go.
Fayne may have only tested the market to see what's out there, but he's likely being offer around $4 million per on a 4-5 year deal, which the Devils may not be willing to match. They could use a compliance buyout on Anton Volchenkov and free up the money to then pay Fayne, but the team seems hesitant to do that.
I wouldn't rule out Fayne's return, but at this point I think it's more likely he signs elsewhere.
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Sticking with pending Devils free agents, Martin Brodeur was seen talking with MLSE president and CEO Tim Leiweke in Toronto yesterday.
Brodeur is in Toronto for a charity golf tournament, but I'm sure the possibility of him signing in Toronto came up in conversation.
James Reimer won't be a Maple Leaf much longer and Leiweke always likes to make a big splash, so bringing in the winningest goaltender of all-time is likely very much on Leiweke's mind.
The Maple Leafs aren't a true contender at this point and Brodeur told Devils beat writer Tom Gulitti he'd prefer to play in the U.S., but Brodeur signing with the Leafs makes sense for a few reasons.
As I mentioned Leiweke likes to bring in big names whenever he can, and the Leafs do need another goaltender for next season so it makes sense from that standpoint.
The Leafs also have David Clarkson, who's one of Brodeur's closest friends, and his son Jeremy Brodeur will be playing for Oshawa in the OHL just down the road. If Brodeur signed in Toronto, he'd be close to Jeremy and would be able to catch his games now and again, which is likely an attractive option for the 42-year-old goaltender.
Whether he ends up in Toronto or not remains to be seen, but I think it's definitely something worth keeping an eye on.
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