Dubas offers update on Jack Campbell situation ahead of the NHL draft
At one point this season, Jack Campbell was among the favourites in the NHL to win the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender. The now 30-year-old had the month of his life in November, and was even named to the Atlantic Division All-Star Team.
Unfortunately, injury and apparent confidence issues derailed his season midway through. Campbell was able to put it together for the playoffs, but was still vastly outplayed by Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy in games 6 and 7 of their first round series. Now Campbell is poised to become a UFA on July 13th and is staring down what could be his last shot to sign a big-money NHL contract. The Leafs need a goaltender for next season, no question. But is a 30-year-old goalie who had an inconsistent season, has never been a true #1 and wants big money really the best option? Thankfully for us, we don't have to make that choice. Kyle Dubas, on the other hand, does.
Dubas spoke with the media in Toronto on Wednesday and provided an update on how things are progressing with Campbell's camp. The short answer is that they aren't progressing much, but still remain in contact.
-Kyle Dubas
Dubas doesn't give much away here, but if we're reading between the lines, Campbell is hearing that there is big money available to him in free agency. Dubas isn't convinced after this season that Campbell is worth that kind of money and doesn't want to be forced to create cap space to keep him around at the number Campbell wants. It's a tough situation for both sides.
TSN's Darren Dreger has reported that there will be offers in the $6 million per season range for Campbell. If that's the case, we can't blame the guy for wanting to explore that. That's the kind of money that will set Jack and his family up for the future. As Dubas put it, it's life-altering.
For Dubas, he would have to move Petr Mrazek at the very least to make room for a number like that, and take money out of his budget for improvements elsewhere on the roster. I'm a big fan of Jack Campbell as a person, and I truly hope that whatever he does, wherever he ends up, he finds success. But if $6M is the number, he's certainly not going to get it in Toronto.
