Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Leafs sweep road trip with win over Caps; Negotiating back and forth

October 14, 2018, 2:06 PM ET [133 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
For the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter

The Toronto Maple Leafs completed a four-game sweep of their early season road trip with a 4-2 victory over the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

Kasperi Kapanen, Par Lindholm, Josh Leivo and Auston Matthews scored for Toronto, who have the NHL’s best record at 5-1-0 and lead the league with 29 goals. Frederik Andersen made 25 saves for his fourth win of the season.



Matthews continued his hot streak to start the year, notching his 10th goal in just six games, becoming the fifth player (Bobby Hull, Mike Bossy, Dino Ciccarelli and Mario Lemieux) to record at least 10 goals in his team’s first six games of the season and eclipsing the team record set of nine goals in six games set in 1944-45 by Sweeny Schriner.

Lindholm’s second period goal was the first of the 26-year-old’s NHL career and Leivo’s power play game-winner was his first of the season.

Toronto once again started slow, surrendering the opening goal from Chandler Stephenson 18 seconds into the first, but bounced back in the middle frame, tying the score on Kapanen’s deflection of Ron Hainsey’s point shot.

Washington retook the lead just over a minute later on an Evgeni Kuznetsov power play goal, but Lindholm’s deflection of a Jake Gardiner centering pass evened the score late in the second. The Leafs took the lead on Leivo’s power play goal, but once again yielded control of the game while attempting to preserve it, as the Caps buzzed the Toronto net for a prolonged period in hopes of tying the game before Matthews insurance goal late in regulation.

“The first 10 minutes weren't very good. I don't know if it was nervous or rattled or whatever, we weren't very good.” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “I thought we settled in and played pretty well. We had some quality chances early and didn't bury them and then we were able to finally get it going a little bit. I thought our third period was our best period of the night. We needed them and we were able to get two points for us.”



The Leafs return home for three games this week, taking on the Los Angeles Kings at Scotiabank Arena on Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday and former Leaf Tyler Bozak and the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

*******

While the focus of the Maple Leafs has been to get their core players locked up on long-term deals, the club may be open to shorter-term options to get the likes of Auston Matthews and William Nylander signed to new deals.

On Saturday night Headlines, Sportsnet’s Eliotte Friedman reported that Toronto management and Matthews representatives are trying to get a deal done, but that it may be a five-year extension and not the eight-year max deal that Connor McDavid signed with Edmonton last summer.

The eight-year extension offers the most security for the Leafs, in terms of getting Matthews under control until the age of 30, but the shorter deal makes sense for both sides as well. The max contract would buy four years of unrestricted free agency and that deal based on his current trajectory would be close to or greater than McDavid’s $12.5 Million AAV.

A five-year contract, which star forwards Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, John Tavares, Steven Stamkos, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby signed after their entry-level contracts, would have a considerably lower AAV and have Matthews signed till he is 27.

That would set him up for another big contract while still in his prime, but it would also set up the Leafs to pay him the big money since Tavares seven-year, $77 Million contract will have only one year left.

Nick Kypreos indicated that there is no progress in the impasse between Toronto and RFA William Nylander, but that the Leafs are not shopping the restricted free agent winger and agent Lewis Gross has not asked for a trade.

The two sides may be heading towards a bridge deal, as many people have long thought, but Kypreos reports that the Leafs offer on a four-year deal (which would bring Nylander right to unrestricted free agency) was under $5 Million per season, while the winger’s camp might be looking in the neighborhood of what Nikita Kucherov ($4.7 Million) and Artemi Panarin ($6 Million) took in bridge deals.

*******

Here is the latest edition of "The Leafs Convo", please watch and subscribe to our YouTube page.and/or listen on iTunes and keep the podcast going by contributing through Patreon.com.





*******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.*******
Join the Discussion: » 133 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Mike Augello
» Matthews Game-Time Decision; 2023 Draftees Update; Leafs vs. Capitals
» Leafs Frustrated And Immature In Loss To Devils
» Practicing Load Management Down The Stretch; Leafs vs. Devils
» Woll Wonderful In Loss To Canes; Keefe Downplaying Samsonov Injury
» Podcast Sunday – Off The Post Radio