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Justin Holl and Alex Kerfoot may be available as Toronto balances budget |
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The Toronto Sun is reporting that the Leafs have a lot of decisions in front of them. There’s been talk here in the comments about Ryan O’Reilly, but it sounds like he’d like to stay in Toronto if the right deal can be made. For Defenseman Justin Holl and Alex Kerfoot, the odds seem against them being retained.
Kerfoot’s current 3.5 million is said in the Sun write up to be a tough nugget for the Leafs. Negotiations with Matthews sound “positive”, but the hunger for more “cap friendly” depth players could be difficult. Kerfoot is a player I liked in Colorado and may be a player Yzerman would look at. At 28 there’s a lot to like, but at what cost and where in the lineup? Copp, currently at a higher salary, is hoping for a better year so it would be interesting to see what would happen if Kerfoot wasn’t averse to joining the rebuild.
At 31, Holl’s 2 million dollar AAV is certainly low enough, but this doesn’t really address the Hronek departure. There’s skepticism as to whether Lindstrom will be back, so there is the option of a depth defense position stop gap as both Hagg and Oesterle are “rumored” to be hitting the market.
It would be nice to see an internal option step forward of Tuomisto is ready to try and grab a slot on the right side. He and Berglund are both from the initial Wing’s draft with Yzerman at the helm. It would be nice to see a draft pick come in ready to go.
I continue to think that this is going to be a strange summer for free agents. Another flat cap but also a changing financial landscape. I’d put in the comments that “Leaf’s Lunch” was taken off the air and Bell Media is looking to cut 1700 positions. There were even older write ups that media were not given the green light to travel with the team during the playoffs. Toronto is a market that has held a distinct spot in terms of fan spend and media presence. If cutbacks are being made in that market, that will trickle down to ad revenue etc.
I encourage everyone to keep an eye on companies even locally and see what is being said and done. There is still consumer spend, it has just changed a good deal. There’s a line between being aware and being “panicked” and it’s not one that’s fun to cross. In terms of hockey, by draft time (if not already) teams will have decided what spend will go where. Players looking for a “bump” that aren’t top 6 or top 4 may have to readjust their expectations.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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