It’s a start.
The latest Maple Leafs retool has officially begun with the signings of Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. With all due respect to Joseph Woll, Max Domi and Timothy Liljegren, who signed extensions this week, this organization needed new faces and they got two important ones on the blue line.
The emphasis for general manager Brad Treliving and president Brendan Shanahan when free agency opened on Monday was on defending and they were able to land two credible names without blowing up their salary cap.
Then again, what choice did they have? The Leafs continue to dig out of a depleted prospect pool and the salary-cap hell left by former GM Kyle Dubas.
Give credit to Treliving who, much like a Canadian Mountie, always gets his man. He finally landed Tanev with a six-year, $27-million (U.S.) contract after failing to acquire him multiple times at the trade deadline. While many other teams were willing to pay Tanev a higher salary with shorter term, he found a way to get the deal done.
With Ekman-Larsson and his four-year, $14-million deal, the Leafs hope to get the defenceman they watched help the Florida Panthers win a Stanley Cup. Totally miscast in Arizona, Ekman-Larsson was never the $8.25-million man who could carry a blue line. But he can certainly be a guy who can come in and help Morgan Rielly on the power play. The 32-year-old plays with poise and is good at getting his shot to the net. He was also encouraged to play with more bite in Florida and Leafs fans can only hope he brings more of that to Toronto.
As far as Treliving’s promise to add size, he lived up to it by signing six-foot-seven defenceman Jani Hakanpää to a two-year deal worth $1.5 million per season. On the surface you can look at it as the Leafs swapping Ilya Lyubushkin with Dallas for Hakanpää, at half the price.
But then this signing suddenly got a whole lot more interesting when Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons claimed the 32-year-old Hakanpää may never play another NHL game due to a knee injury. He played 64 games with the Stars last season, with his last on March 16.
A Dallas source confirmed to me they would have liked to re-sign Hakanpää but feared he has a “degenerative knee” that would be tough to manage next season. The Leafs certainly do not feel the same way as their medical team had an extensive look prior to the signing and were very comfortable giving Shanahan and Treliving the green light to move forward.
All in all, these are three good building blocks on the back end to look forward to. But after the flurry of free-agent action across the NHL on Canada Day, it’s worth wondering if the Leafs have done enough to give them an edge over stiff competition in the Atlantic Division, which is now home to three of the last five Stanley Cup winners.
With Jake Guentzel swapping in for Steven Stamkos in Tampa and Florida re-signing Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell at team-friendly discounts, it’s clear both teams didn’t get much worse. The Bruins managed to beat the Leafs in April without new signings Elias Lindholm or Nikita Zadorov. They are now even stronger with those two added, despite losing Jake DeBrusk to Vancouver.
If the Leafs did take a hit this week it was once again on the left wing. With Tyler Bertuzzi headed to Chicago on a four-year, $22-million deal, Toronto’s top-six forwards are weaker than they were last season.
Bertuzzi’s departure puts a ton of pressure for 21-year-old sophomore Matthew Knies and 28-year-old Bobby McMann, who has yet to play an NHL playoff game, on the left side. Both are terrific players with a ton of upside but are unlikely to be ready to carry a Stanley Cup contending team yet.
Behind them, you are left with Pontus Holmberg and the option of playing Domi on the left side. Until the Leafs see top prospect Easton Cowan through training camp, it’s too presumptuous to say he’ll get a trial run in the season’s first 10 games.
The current situation is enough for Treliving to not let disgruntled restricted free-agent winger Nick Robertson fade into the sunset just yet.
The bottom-six forwards need some attention as well. Is David Kämpf still in the plans to lead the Leafs’ checking line? There’s a good chance they cut bait there as well. Can he be replaced by prospect Fraser Minton or is it time to look for an NHL-ready player elsewhere?
Free agency has given the blue line a much-needed makeover, the goaltending is solidified between Woll and Anthony Stolarz, but there is clearly plenty of work left to do for the Leafs this summer.
Hopefully Shanahan and Treliving haven’t made plans for extended vacations. This is shaping up to be one busy off-season trying to keep up with the powerhouses of the Atlantic.
Kyper’s Korner
- Prior to the Predators spending a whack of dough on free agents Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei, ex-Leaf Ryan O’Reilly did his very best to convince GM Barry Trotz to make a push and trade for Mitch Marner.
- The Stars weren’t in the same ballpark as the Leafs to entice Tanev to re-sign there. Their best offer was $15 million over three years.
- Stan Bowman’s name was linked to the Oilers when he was banned by the league for his role in the Chicago Blackhawks scandal. With Edmonton’s GM job very much still open, how strong does the speculation grow?
- Eyebrows were raised when the Penguins did not announce a contract extension for Sidney Crosby on July 1, and there isn’t one expected this week. Word is that while both sides are in conversation, there is no rush from Crosby’s side. Read into that however you want.
Change my mind
On the NHL draft format changing: If the league was prepared to blow a ton of cash on holding the event at the Sphere this year and the fans loved it, then forget the new scaled-down format and keep it in Vegas.
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