Projecting the next contract for a Leafs blueliner and fan-favourite
Acquired for a third round pick ahead of the deadline this year, Luke Schenn was brought in to be a physical force on the Leafs' back end for their playoff run. He was projected to be a bottom-pairing addition, but played so well that he found himself playing next to Morgan Rielly on the Leafs' top pair.
At a cap hit of just under $900K last season, Schenn was quite the "bang for your buck" addition for the Leafs. Schenn was a force on the top pair with Rielly, providing a stable, stay-at-home, physical partner that allowed Rielly to play quite possibly his best hockey in a Leafs uniform.
Schenn undoubtedly deserves a raise from last season, but the Leafs should be able to afford him if he wants to return. According to Evolving Hockey's contract projections chart, they project that Schenn will likely sign a 2-year pact that will pay him slightly north of $1.5M per season. The Leafs currently have just over $9M in cap space and likely more than $14M once they place Jake Muzzin on LTIR (and if they keep Matt Murray), which would make Schenn's new deal easily digestible in terms of cap space. Based on what Brad Treliving has said in his interviews so far, Schenn is the type of blueliner that he wants on his team and is looking to add more of them. It would be a safe bet to say that we will see Schenn dawn the blue and white again next season.
One has to wonder, though, if Schenn is tired of moving around and might be looking for more term. Could we see the Leafs offer to keep him around for 3 or more seasons, even at age 33? If the Leafs wanted to lock Schenn up for 3 or more seasons, would he consider shaving a bit off the top and agree to sign at, say, $1.25M per season? Just some food for thought.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 5 | 583 ANSWERS Projecting the next contract for a Leafs blueliner and fan-favourite Is 3 years at $1.25M per season too rich of a deal for Luke Schenn? | ||
| No, that's a great deal! | 404 | 69.3 % |
| Yes, too much term | 86 | 14.8 % |
| Honestly, I'd even go as high as 3x$1.5M | 93 | 16 % |
| List of polls | ||
