The Toronto Maple Leafs organization will be undergoing a significant transition over the summer and nowhere will that be more apparent than on the blueline.
With the departure of veterans Dion Phaneuf and Roman Polak, a group of young defensemen will have an opportunity to earn a spot in the NHL and a trio of 2015 draft picks will start their professional careers in the ECHL or AHL, which could mean that some players will be moving on.
KHL defenseman Nikita Zaitsev was signed to a one-year deal earlier this month and impressed at the 2016 IIHF World Championship in Russia. The 24-year-old was selected as a member of Team Russia for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey and it is expected that Zaitsev will play on one of the Leafs top two pairings, with Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner and veteran Matt Hunwick.
Toronto enters the off-season with a group thin on top-four talent and overstocked with bottom pairing options. Hunwick was solid as a tutor for Rielly and had the confidence of head coach Mike Babcock, but his performance declined in the second half.
The Leafs have seven defensemen (Martin Marincin, Frank Corrado, Stuart Percy, Connor Carrick, Rinat Valiev, Viktor Loov and Scott Harrington) who will be fighting for spots, but five of them are restricted free agents and would have to clear waivers if they do not make the club out of training camp (only Valiev and Loov are waiver exempt).
With GM Lou Lamoriello expected to be busy this summer, one or more of these blueliners could find themselves in a trade. Percy (a 2011 first rounder) is the only one of that group who is a holdover from the Brian Burke era and that fact may make the 23-year-old an expendable asset.
The Marlies blueline could be a much younger group next season. On Monday, Toronto signed Rouyn-Noranda defenseman Nikolas Brouillard to an AHL deal.
The 21-year-old played well at the rookie tournament in London, ON last September, earned an invite to Leafs training camp and followed that up with a 59 point season with Quebec and the Huskies, 20 points in the QMJHL Playoffs and a goal and assist in the Memorial Cup.
2015 draft picks Travis Dermott, Andrew Nielsen and Steven Desrochers are also graduating from the CHL and will be in the mix. Team captain Andrew Campbell will be back with a year remaining on his two-year contract, but David Kolomatis and Justin Holl's AHL deals are expiring.
The toughest decision may be whether to re-sign two-time Eddie Shore Award winner and leading scorer TJ Brennan to a new deal. After winning the AHL's equivalent of the Norris Trophy three seasons ago, Brennan signed a two-year, one-way contract with the NY Islanders in 2014, but was traded to Chicago and back to Toronto.
The Leafs signed Brennan to a one-year deal for $675,000 last summer and he will likely be looking for another one-way deal, but Toronto paid that price to retain his services as an offensive catalyst for their AHL affiliate, but may now focus more on developing their youngsters.
With the 50 NHL contract limit a potential factor, it is possible that Toronto will try to get veterans like Brennan and Rich Clune to accept an AHL deal (which does not count against the 50) to stay in Toronto, but coming off another impressive season, Brennan may be looking for one more chance to make the NHL or a lucrative contract in Europe.
*******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.*******
Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information
click here.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»