Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas in a media availability at the club’s practice facility in Etobicoke, ON on Monday commented on a number of different issues regarding the contract status of some of their key players and what the club may need prior to the NHL trade deadline.
On the current status of the club:
“I am happy with where we are at. I still think we have a long way to go and that is what we work towards every day.”
On contract negotiations with pending UFA defenseman Jake Gardiner:
I think with all of our pending free agents, we’re having discussions. With Jake, he is a key part (of our club) and I think it is in the same spot it was a few weeks ago. We have some other matters that we have to tend to and that’s been communicated to Jake as well and then we’ll continue to stay in contact and work with him.
We would like him to be here. It’s not as simple as it sounds. You only have a certain amount (of cap space) that you can divvy up and it’s trying to make that all work and keep our team on the right path moving forward.”
Analysis - Dubas comments are consistent with what Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported a couple weeks ago about the negotiations with Gardiner.
Toronto would like to re-sign the 28-year-old blueliner, but only at their price and not what he will get on the open market, which will likely be in the $6.5-to-$7 Million a year range on a long term deal.
The likely scenario that will play out is Gardiner being kept past the February 25th deadline as an “own rental” and the Leafs adding someone to bolster their blueline for a playoff run with at least a year remaining on his deal who can take Gardiner’s place next season.
On what areas of need have to be addressed to make the Leafs better
I think we are always looking to improve the team wherever we can. We would like to continue to move the puck better from our own zone. I think some of that falls on our forwards to get open and available, and on the defense to execute when they are open and available.
It is an area that we continue to want to improve upon. I think it is an area where we can make great gains and continue to improve as a club. If that isn’t something that’s happening as we get closer to the end of February, I think we will certainly look to improve.
Analysis - A wise move by Dubas to not convey any sense of desperation when it comes to a clear need to upgrade on defense, but the cat is out of the bag.
While getting the forwards to come back into the defensive zone may help the blueline, it has been clear for at least a couple years that the Leafs are at least one and perhaps two defensemen short. That may be costly for Dubas to acquire, but it has to be done to improve Toronto’s chances of advancing deep in the postseason.
Liljegren was on the Leafs radar for this season until recent high ankle sprain:
“It’s a tough injury to gauge in terms of the timeline and it is really unfortunate because he had been having an excellent season for the Marlies on the first pair, first power play and first penalty kill (and he was) producing well.
Regardless of the Sweden World Junior element, it is disappointing for us because he’s a right-shot defenseman and he moves the puck very well. We are looking at him to continue to move and challenge here this season. Unfortunately, this is going to set him back for quite a few weeks. I don’t know that he is overly close quite yet, and you can certainly understand that he wants to push to play for Sweden at the World Juniors, but I just don’t know if it’s going to be realistic.
Analysis - This indicates that Liljegren may have been on the same timetable as Travis Dermott last season, who was called up in January and replaced Andreas Borgman on the bottom pairing.
The 19-year-old blueliner has been out since December 1 and the usual recovery time for a high ankle sprain is in the six-week range and more time to get back to where he was before the injury. That would put the Leafs into February and not getting a youngster the proper prep time to get acclimated to the NHL.
This may increase the chances that Dubas will add another depth defenseman on top of the top four blueliner they are already looking for.
On William Nylander’s slow start after signing his six-year deal:
“He has had chances each game. He had a great chance Saturday night. He had two assists in Carolina (and) played well in Tampa Bay. His points aren’t at the level that he would probably like them at or that he is used to, but I think he is slowly starting to come along. I think that was totally expected.
In his case, I know there are going to be some challenges and as a result of the way (the contract impasse) went. I think by the time we get beyond Christmas and into the New Year, he’ll be back to his usual form and will continue to improve on the path that he’s had
I don’t worry about William whatsoever. He is in excellent shape and an excellent character person. He is going to end up being just great for us.
Analysis - A slow start was to be expected from Nylander after missing training camp and two months of the regular season, and while Dubas may be understanding, Babcock may be less so if he is not up to speed by the end of December.
Is there a need to add players with more size and pushback???
“I understand, at every level — whether it’s Sault Ste. Marie or the Marlies — it’s been the same question. I just don’t buy it myself. I know that there are a lot of pundits that say you have to have it, but I look at the teams that have had success and I don’t think that bringing in one big person is going to change our culture and it is not going to have us carry on with the process we’ve started.
We want to have skill, we want to be fast and we want to be competitive. I don’t really think that with the way that the league is going, having someone that can come in and fight or anything like that, if that’s what you were inferring is going to change that. We’ve got a way we want to play and we are just going to carry on with that. In the end, people will judge whether it was effective.
Analysis - In the sense that one person will not address the “team toughness” issue, Dubas is right. It is something that has to be addressed by adding a number of players who play with energy and will push back when an Auston Matthews is checked into the boards by Niklas Kronwall or Boston successfully put the Leafs back on their heels with some physical play.
Enforcers and one-dimensional fourth liners are a thing of the past, but the Capitals having a number of players throughout their lineup stepping up their physicality was a contributing factor in their Cup win last season and the Leafs need more of that to complement their ample skill and speed.
On whether the threat of offer sheets to Matthews and Marner is a growing concern:
”I look around the league right now, and for whatever reason, it seems like the Toronto Maple Leafs are the only team that is going to be the target of an offer sheet. Seems interesting to me, but there is about a third of the teams in the league that have a highly talented restricted free agent, and some of them have more than one, as we do.
I think if you think of it probabilistically rather than far-reaching scenarios where that may happen, I think an offer sheet is completely permissible within the rules of the league, even though they haven’t been used frequently. But there are a lot of players.
I understand why it is a topic. There are a lot of restricted free agents coming up this year who are highly talented. I think we are certainly not alone in that. What I would say, as it relates to our team, is that our salary cap situation is set up that we can defend any of those threats with no worry at all.
I know that they’ve become a huge topic of late, but I spend 0% of my time having any worry about that. If a team wants to go down that path with us, that is the way it goes. But our goal will be to continue to work with these players. The players have both stated they want to be here. It’s our goal to continue to work with those players and their agents towards an agreement.
Analysis - The threat of offer sheets comes up every year and very rarely do we see it actually happen.
That may happen this summer, with Brayden Point, Mikko Rantanen, Charlie McAvoy, Sebastien Aho and many others coming off their ELC’s, but my prediction is that if any team offer sheets Matthews and Marner, it will take only minutes before the Leafs say they will match the offer.
A team can go over the cap by 10% during the summer and with a potential $83 Million cap in 2019, the Leafs could match offer sheets and then make trades to clear salary and get under the cap before the start of the regular season.
That means do not lose any sleep, Leafs fans.
On contract talks with his two big restricted free agents:
”We continue to have discussions with Judd Muldaver (Matthews agent) and with Darren Ferris (Marner’s representative) and both of those camps. It will be our intention to try to get those (deals done) as soon as possible.
We do want to avoid the situation we were just in. We are completely in control of that this time in that there is no excuse… that I can’t say, ‘I wasn’t doing this job a year ago.’ We have to continue to work away with them and it will be our intention well before July 1st, that we have an agreement and both players are here long term. One way or another, we’ll get that point.
Analysis - Leafs Nation hopes this is the case, otherwise Toronto area hospitals better stock up on nitroglycerin pills.
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