Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is expected to keep his options open as the offseason approaches since the landscape of what players will cost in terms of acquiring them in a trade or paying free agents with the salary cap staying flat at $81.5 Million is unknown, but speculation about a pair of goalies may provide Dubas with more of an idea of how the market will play out.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated on Calgary’s FAN 960 on Wednesday that the Vegas Golden Knights and goalie Robin Lehner have mutual interest on a contract extension and that there are rumors of a five-year deal at $5 Million per season (the same term and AAV that Frederik Andersen signed with Toronto in 2016), but that there has been no confirmation that a deal has been agreed to.
Lehner is clearly the top free agent in a class that includes Brayden Holtby, Jacob Markstrom, and Corey Crawford, and if he is signed for a salary that would have him earning in the middle of the pack of goalies after a long playoff run with Vegas, it likely means that the others would fall in line with shorter-term deals or for a slight lower salary. If that is the case, the Leafs could find a replacement for Andersen for less than his cap hit and possibly for a term of three or four years.
It also means that teams looking to save money and not commit to a multi-year deal to upgrade in net would be interested in dealing for Andersen, who is owed only $1 Million next season.
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported on Thursday that Pittsburgh and Edmonton have discussed a trade involving Matt Murray, but that Penguins GM Jim Rutherford’s asking price (which might be a first-round pick) was too rich for Oilers GM Ken Holland.
Edmonton picks 14th in the upcoming draft (one pick ahead of the Leafs), but it is unlikely that Rutherford is going to find any club to trade a top pick for Murray coming off the worst year of his career. Pittsburgh has both Murray and Tristan Jarry looking for new contracts and faces the prospect of losing one of them in the expansion draft to Seattle.
Any club interested in Murray would not only have to pay a price to acquire him in a trade, but then sign him to an extension with a pair of Stanley Cup victories to his credit. That fact would likely mitigate what Rutherford can demand in a trade.
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