Several buyouts triggered on Friday; which of these players is the best fit for the Leafs?
As we head into the final hours of the first buyout window, several NHL teams have placed players on waivers for the purpose of a buyout. The Winnipeg Jets are buying out Blake Wheeler, the Chicago Blackhawks are buying out Josh Bailey, the Nashville Predators are doing the same with Matt Duchene, as are the Detroit Red Wings with Kailer Yamamoto. The Boston Bruins have also decided to go the buyout route with Mike Reilly.
The UFA class of 2023 was relatively weak with names like Vladimir Tarasenko, Tyler Bertuzzi, J.T. Compher and Alex Killorn up front with Matthew Dumba, John Klingberg and Dmitry Orlov on the back-end being among the top options. Now with Wheeler, Duchene, Bailey, Yamamoto, and even Reilly available - and one would think for cheap - the Toronto Maple Leafs have a few more options than originally anticipated.
Talent-wise, Matt Duchene would be the obvious top choice with his 316 goals and 744 points in 976 games. 2 years ago he scored a career-high 43 goals and 86 points in 78 games but followed that up with 22 goals and 56 points this past season. He has scored 20+ goals nine times, 30+ goals three times, and 40+ goals once.
Blake Wheeler will be turning 37 in August, has 1,118 games under his belt with 312 goals and 922 points across 15 seasons. In 13 years with the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise he has accumulated 550 assists and 812 points in 897 games. Wheeler has passed the 20-goal plateau 8 times, including 7-straight seasons between 2013-14 to 2019-20.
Wheeler also scored 91 points in consecutive seasons in 2017-18 and again in 2018-19. Over the last 3 years he has still managed to produce with 113 assists and 161 points in 187 games but the Jets need to make changes and his high-cap hit was nearly immovable. Similarly to Duchene, Wheeler would be a boon for the Leafs top-6 and would be a solid playmaker for Auston Matthews or John Tavares, though there are some concerns that he has slowed down significantly.
Playing for the New York Islanders doesn't get you much notoriety and Josh Bailey is a prime example of that. He has spent his entire 15-year career on Long Island and while his numbers have dropped in recent seasons he still has managed around a half a point per game with 580 points in 1,057 games.
Between 2016-17 and 2019-20 he scored 61 goals and 226 points in 308 games, including a career-high 18 goals and 71 points in 2017-18. He would be a decent 3rd line option for the Leafs, he would come in relatively cheap and can provide solid two-way play and penalty killing acumen.
Kailer Yamamoto would be more of a low-risk, high-reward type of acquisition as the Leafs have done in the past with the likes of Michael Bunting and Ilya Samsonov. The 24-year-old has not lived up to the hype of his first round selection back in 2017 and while he has shown flashes, it hasn't been on a near consistent basis.
In parts of 6 seasons he has 244 games under his belt with 50 goals and 118 points but since 2019-20 he has 49 goals and 113 points in 218 games. After scoring 20 goals and 41 points in 2021-22, a lot was expected this year but he missed a lot of games and wasn't the impactful player he was the year prior.
Edmonton, needing money, traded his final year to Detroit who subsequently waived him for the purpose of buying him out. He would be a cost-effective wing option for the Leafs top-9.
Mike Reilly's buyout saves the Bruins $2.66 million in cap space for 2023-24 as they are on the hunt for offensive help without the likes of Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Taylor Hall, and Tyler Bertuzzi. The $4.5 million in bonus overages did a number on the Bruins this summer as they continue to shed away salary in the hopes of re-signing some players. Reilly has played for Minnesota, Montreal, Ottawa, and Boston across 8 years and has 98 points in 339 games.
He has averaged 17:11 TOI over his career and 19:03 over the last 2 seasons with Boston. He's a decent option for the third pairing, won't make too many boneheaded errors, but won't provide too many sparks either. He's reliable for his role and would be another cost-effective option for the Maple Leafs defense should they opt to go that way. Personally, I don't see a fit there.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 30 | 342 ANSWERS Several buyouts triggered on Friday; which of these players is the best fit for the Leafs? Who is the best fit in Toronto among the wave of recent buyouts? | ||
| Matt Duchene | 89 | 26 % |
| Kailer Yamamoto/Josh Bailey | 26 | 7.6 % |
| Blake Wheeler | 111 | 32.5 % |
| None of the above | 116 | 33.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
