Insider announces that the Leafs are officially shopping a pending UFA
The dates you need to know if you're a Leafs fan are July 1st, 7th, 8th, 12th and 13th. What are their significance? Well, July 1st (tomorrow) triggers the opening of the buyout window and the payout date for signing bonuses, the 7th and 8th are the first and second day of the NHL Entry Draft, July 12th is when the window for buyouts closes and the 13th is, of course, the start of free agency.
For the Leafs, we know there is a lot of turnover coming. The Leafs have 7 regulars from last season coming off the books this summer; four UFAs and 3 RFAs. It's very possible that both of the two RFAs who qualify for salary arbitration may not be qualified and may become UFAs on July 13th. There is also the possibility of an offer sheet for Rasmus Sandin, should he be inclined to sign one - though that does seem somewhat unlikely.
As for the pending UFAs, Jack Campbell, Ilya Lyubushkin, Colin Blackwell and Ilya Mikheyev, there are some big decisions to be made by both team and players.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Leafs appear to have made a decision on at least one of their UFAs - Ilya Mikheyev. Friedman has revealed on Thursday that the Leafs have put Mikheyev's name out on the open market should anyone wish to acquire his negotiating rights to get a head start on signing him.
Should a team bite on the opportunity and complete a trade with the Leafs, they'll have an exclusive run at signing him to a contract before anyone else is eligible on July 13th. With these types of deals, it's normally a low pick that comes back the other way, likely a 6th or 7th rounder.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 30 | 229 ANSWERS Insider announces that the Leafs are officially shopping a pending UFA Will the Leafs be able to acquire another pick this year for Mikheyev's negotiating rights? | ||
| Yes | 149 | 65.1 % |
| No | 80 | 34.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
