Leafs may pursue rough neck RFA if he goes unqualified
Last summer, Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie were not extended qualifying offers by the Bruins which made them unrestricted free agents. Coming off of an injury-plagued season it made sense for the Bruins to not qualify Kase and the Leafs jumped at the opportunity to have a former 20 goal scorer in their bottom six. With Ritchie, the Bruins were not sure he could keep up in their top 6, and they were right, as he also couldn't keep up in the Leafs' top 6.
While the Leafs ended up moving Ritchie to Arizona, Kase was an effective third line winger, sometimes playing with Tavares on the second line or up with Auston Matthews on line 1 for short stints as well. He was a solid penalty killer and, although not big, he finished his checks. Unfortunately for Kase and the Leafs, he spent much of the season battling injuries, including a concussion.
With cap constraints going into this off-season again, look for the Leafs to do something similar with another RFA that doesn't get qualified. One name that could be a potential target for the Leafs is Miles Wood of the New Jersey Devils. He only played 3 games last season and is coming off of a major hip surgery. His previous cap hit of $2.75M means the Devils would have to qualify him at 3.3M or 20% more than his previous years cap hit. That may end up being a tad too rich for the Devils. While he does have arbitration rights, those would only matter if the Devils were to qualify him. Wood could be an excellent fit for the Leafs as a guy that can play in the middle six and give Tavares and Nylander a solid left winger with some bite. He's a physical player with plenty of grit that can also put the puck in the net.
Wood, if he goes unqualified and makes it to free agency, would be eligible to sign with any team he pleases, which may not be a good thing for the Leafs, who would undoubtedly be looking to keep his cap hit lower. If a bidding war starts for his services, the Leafs may have to look elsewhere. However, Wood, being from the nearby Buffalo, NY may enjoy the opportunity to play with a contending team so close to home. In that aspect, perhaps the Leafs would be able to offer him something that many other NHL franchises can't.
| POLL | ||
MAI 26 | 207 ANSWERS Leafs may pursue rough neck RFA if he goes unqualified Should the Leafs offer pending RFA Miles Wood a contract if he goes unqualified in New Jersey? | ||
| Yes | 127 | 61.4 % |
| No | 80 | 38.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
