Leafs free agency day one recap; a precursor for what could come on day two
Day one of free agency this year was quite a busy one, even for the Leafs, who were probably one of the less involved teams - at least when it comes to the bigger fish. We learned the final fates of several Leafs free agents and brought in some new bodies to replace them. Of course, the first and most Important topic on the day was goaltending, and the Leafs wasted no time in securing their 1B netminder.
Their first announcement was signing Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov to a 1-year contract worth $1.8 million. Similar to Matt Murray, Samsonov has struggled the past couple of years, but has shown flashes of brilliance in his young career. The summary of Kyle Dubas' announcement of this signing was that he and Murray will be competing for the net all season, hoping to elevate both of their games. Samsonov will be a restricted free agent next summer.
The next signing was a bit more surprising. Rather than addressing a need in the top 6, the Leafs went after Nicolas Aube-Kubel, signing the feisty bottom six winger to a 1 year contract. Aube-Kubel is coming off a Stanley Cup victory as a depth piece for the Colorado Avalanche. He plays a fast, heavy game, and is a relentless forechecker. David Kampf came from Chicago with low expectations and just one goal his prior season, so we all collectively lost our minds each time he scored with the Leafs. Treat Aube-Kubel the same way, and you wont be disappointed.
The other two signings are going to have to earn their spots in the lineup. We've been hearing rumours about Dennis Malgin making a return all week, and those were confirmed today. With Leaf fans no doubt questioning bringing back a player who struggled to find ice time 2 years ago on a worse roster, Dubas re-assured that he was being brought back with no promises made in terms of playing time. Consider it depth insurance for a guy who's probably just ready to move back to North America after a year in Switzerland.
The other was Adam Gaudette, who has spent the past few years as a fringe middle-of-the-lineup player in Vancouver. Interesting enough, their newest addition Ilya Mikheyev is who they had hoped Gaudette could blossom into. At best, Gaudette plays a fast game as well, and maybe he replaces some of the goals left by Mikheyev's absence. At worst, he's instantly one of the best Marlies.
The Leafs have spent over half of their available cap space, and let Campbell, Lyubushkin, Mikheyev, Blackwell, and Kase all walk on Wednesday. The former three got deals that were far too rich for the Leafs to take on. Many of us held a long shot hope that Lyubushkin would be back, but seeing a $2.75 million 2 year deal from Chicago, we're pretty sure the Leafs wouldn't have been close. Kase was apparently offered the same deal to stay in Toronto, but elected to sign with Carolina instead. Perhaps they offered him an opportunity to get into their top 6, something he just wasnt destined for in Toronto.
So, mixed feelings at the end of free agency day. On the one hand, we can feel a little better about our goaltending situation heading into next season. An optimist's view: Murray and Samsonov have about as good a chance of working out as Campbell and Mrazek did. But, the rest of their roster leaves much more questions than answers. The Leafs are still in the market for some more forward depth, and specifically a heavy right shot defenseman. There will be an internal battle from a few Marlies for a spot come pre-season, but the hope around Leafs Nation is that we still see some money moved out to bring in some new faces.
Perhaps we'll see new deals for Pierre Engvall and Rasmus Sandin on day 2 of free agency or potential trades involving Jake Muzzin, Alex Kerfoot or Justin Holl to open up some additional space for Dubas to work with. The day is just getting started, so we'll have more clarity on the day's plans shortly I'm sure.
