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Leafs Rumors – Kuemper, buyout goalies, Ho-Sang, Foligno |
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With less than 24 hours to go before the start of free agent frenzy, there are a plethora of rumors involving the Toronto Maple Leafs, so until further notice, my mode of operation will be as a conveyor belt of those items and gauge their likelihood.
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman have indicated over the last 24 hours that the Leafs are among a number of teams that are interested in Arizona goalie Darcy Kuemper.
The 31-year-old had a .907 save percentage and 2.56 GAA in 27 games last season and played well for Canada at the World Championships and has one year left at $4.5 million, but teams like Carolina are reportedly interested as well (although Andy Strickland is reporting that the Canes are zeroing in on another Coyotes goalie, Antti Raanta).
The Coyotes have been a dumping ground of bad contracts and deals with cap hits greater than the money owed. They are also extremely thin on the back end, even after acquiring Anton Stralman from Florida and Shayne Gostisbehere from Philadelphia, which makes a case for either Alex Kerfoot (owed $750,000 in salary after his bonus is paid, with a $3.5 million cap hit) or Travis Dermott (signed a two year deal for $1.5 million AAV) being included in a possible deal.
Friedman said on a radio spot on FAN 590 on Tuesday that the modus operandi of the Coyotes has been to acquire draft picks in recent deals and that the Leafs may not have the draft capital to pull off a deal for Kuemper.
The window for buyouts ended on Tuesday and San Jose and Vancouver added to the pool of available goalies by buying out Martin Jones and Braden Holtby. Jones has dropped off significantly the last three years, with a sub-900 save percentage, while Holtby was a veteran safety net for youngster Thatcher Demko that the Canucks could not afford.
Both Jones and Holtby are viable options as potential 1B starters with Jack Campball, as it appears less likely that the Leafs will offer Frederik Andersen a deal. Toronto reportedly wants to take care of their goaltending issue first before delving into free agency, which would lean more towards them acquiring someone via trade rather than wading through the free agent pool.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that former Islander first round pick Josh Ho-Sang is looking to return to North America after playing in Sweden last season and that the Leafs may be willing to sign him to a two-way NHL contract.
The 25-year-old Toronto native put up great numbers in the OHL and AHL after being drafted 28th overall in 2014 by New York, but a variety of issues stifled his career with the Isles. Signing Ho-Sang would be low risk, since it won’t cost the Leafs anything and would be a deal mostly to help the Marlies, but there might still be enough talent to be given another shot in the NHL.
The Star’s Kevin McGran reports that the Leafs and winger Nick Foligno are still talking about a possible contract extension.
This is the signing that makes the most sense for Toronto as a potential replacement for Zach Hyman. Foligno is capable of still playing a top-six role and the prospect of playing with either Auston Matthews or John Tavares could be attractive. A deal for Foligno in my opinion would likely be two or three years in the $3 – 3.5 million AAV range.
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