The Ducks have had a head coaching vacancy since the start of the offseason when it was revealed that Dallas Eakins wouldn’t be back after spending four years with the team. GM Pat Verbeek is known to be casting a wide net as he looks to make his first NHL head coaching hire but there haven’t been many names connected to them thus far. However, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that Devils associate coach Andrew Brunette, Maple Leafs assistant Spencer Carbery, and Penguins assistant Mike Vellucci are under consideration for the spot.
Maple Leafs Rumors
Maple Leafs Notes: Marner, Matthews, Carbery
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote today that he believes that if Kyle Dubas is retained as Toronto Maple Leafs general manager he will shop star forward Mitch Marner. LeBrun cites Dubas proactively bringing up the Matthew Tkachuk trade in his press conference as a sign that the young Maple Leafs GM is ready to make radical changes to shake up Toronto’s core and he sees Florida’s bold move as a template from which to work from.
LeBrun also goes on to add that he believes Marner is the easiest trade to make from a contractual standpoint. Marner has two years left on his current contract and will not have any no trade protection, while William Nylander and Auston Matthews will receive no trade clauses on July 1st and John Tavares already has a full no move clause. The Maple Leafs could shop Marner to all 31 other teams and drive up a bidding war for the 26-year-old. LeBrun ends his article by stating that should the Leafs trade Marner that they would need a top pairing defenseman in return at a minimum.
In other Maple Leafs notes:
- Pierre LeBrun is of the opinion that any Auston Matthews trade is likely not going to happen as he believes the Maple Leafs will instead focus on extending Matthews when he becomes eligible to sign his next contract on July 1st. LeBrun adds that replacing Matthews would be nearly impossible for Toronto to do and given Matthews track record one would have to agree with him. The five-time 40+ goal scorer struggled at times this season, but still managed to put up 85 points in 74 games. One thing that could be a sticking point is the cap hit that Matthews will be looking for on his next long-term deal.
- Pierre LeBrun also discussed Toronto assistant coach Spencer Carbery saying that he believes Carbery’s old team the Washington Capitals have already asked the Toronto Maple Leafs for permission to interview him about their vacant head coaching position. Neither Washington nor Toronto would confirm LeBrun’s hunch that the Capitals are looking to have a reunion with the one-time head coach of their AHL affiliate. Washington have also looked at Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern as a candidate.
William Nylander, Timothy Liljegren Reportedly Joining Sweden At Worlds
According to a report from Swedish outlet Sportbladet, a pair of Toronto Maple Leafs are heading to the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championship after their elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Winger William Nylander and defenseman Timothy Liljegren are joining the Swedish squad, while Sweden has reportedly sent defensemen Joel Persson and Christian Folin home from the tournament to create room on the roster.
After a disappointing loss to the Florida Panthers, Nylander and Liljegren are now set to bring their skills and experience to the international stage. The news bolsters a Swedish contingent that’s yet to lose through three games at the tournament, although they’ve struggled to produce offense outside of a 5-0 win against Austria.
Nylander should help with those scoring woes, coming off the first 40-goal season of his NHL career. He’s been money in the bank for Sweden at this tournament, recording 15 goals and 37 points in just 21 World Championship appearances across three tournaments (2017, 2019, 2022). It’s a significant boon to a Swedish team that has scored just three goals in two games against Germany and Finland, including a shootout marker.
Joining him is Liljegren, who’s made significant strides in his all-around ability since the last time he represented Sweden internationally at the 2018 IIHF Men’s World Junior Championship. One of the more intriguing young two-way defenders in the sport, Liljegren now gets a chance to add an additional spark to a Sweden defensive corps that’s excelled thus far at the tournament, one that includes former teammate and defense partner Rasmus Sandin.
Neither Persson nor Folin had suited up yet for Sweden in the tournament. While they’re both capable contributors to the Swedish lineup, and both have NHL experience, the swap for Nylander and Liljegren is a significant upgrade to a Swedish team with hopes of capturing the gold medal at this tournament.
Sweden can make it four games without a loss when they take on Hungary on Thursday.
Joseph Woll Returned To AHL
The Toronto Marlies and Rochester Americans will resume the AHL’s North Division Finals on Wednesday evening, with the former receiving quite the reinforcement. Joseph Woll, fresh off taking over the Toronto Maple Leafs net in their second-round series, has been returned to the AHL.
Woll, 24, has been tremendous for the Marlies this season, posting a 16-4-1 record and .927 save percentage. He carried over that strong play to the NHL, where he went 6-1 in the regular season and registered a .915 in four playoff appearances.
The young netminder appears to be on track for a full-time NHL job next season, though nothing about the Maple Leafs looks set in stone at this point. If he does land a spot, it will provide the team with a significant salary cap advantage.
Woll signed a three-year extension in February 2022 that keeps him under contract through 2024-25 at a very affordable $767K cap hit. With uncertainty surrounding the future of Matt Murray, and Ilya Samsonov headed for restricted free agency, Woll could be the answer to some of Toronto’s long-standing goaltending issues.
The team has had trouble developing its own netminding prospects but showed great patience with the 62nd overall pick from 2016. Woll went to college for three years, suffered several injuries early in his pro career, and has generally progressed slowly (as goaltenders sometimes do).
For now, he’ll try to help the Marlies turn around the best-of-five series and stave off elimination, before entering a crucial offseason of training ahead of his big NHL opportunity.
Maple Leafs Notes: Dubas, Matthews, Bunting, O’Reilly, Samsonov, Peksa
2:50 PM: Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas took his turn at the podium today, and issued some useful clarity on both his own future and his plans for the Maple Leafs moving forward, should he be retained as GM. On his own future, Dubas said it would be a “family decision” on whether he will remain as head coach, and that he would either remain an executive in Toronto, or step away and take some time to “recalibrate on the season” he just had. Perhaps most importantly for other teams potentially interested in hiring Dubas to fill their vacant GM roles, Dubas stated: “you won’t see me next week popping up elsewhere,” meaning he is highly unlikely to be a possibility for any of this cycle’s GM vacancies.
His other revealing comments today were regarding the Maple Leafs’ general strategy, and how he would approach improving his team. Dubas said he would be “interested in doing anything” with his roster this summer, and that he “would take nothing off the table at all,” which obviously includes superstars such as Matthews. Dubas cited the Panthers (and presumably their bold, core-shaking trade for Matthew Tkachuk last summer) as an example of a team that re-structured a disappointing core in a successful manner, so based on these comments, it seems there could be a greater appetite for seismic change in Toronto than some might have anticipated.
For what its worth, Toronto’s core players almost exclusively expressed sincere hopes that they could remain Maple Leafs and not see their core group of players broken up. But based on Dubas’ recent comments, it looks as though their general manager will examine every possible opportunity to improve his team, even if it requires saying parting with some talented familiar faces.
12:30 PM: Since the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from the second round of the playoffs by the Florida Panthers, much of the focus of the hockey world has been on three of the team’s key figures: general manager Kyle Dubas, head coach Sheldon Keefe, and superstar face of the franchise Auston Matthews. While the futures of both Dubas and Keefe are technically more immediately pressing, it’s the fate of Matthews that is likely to have the most significant on-ice consequences. The 25-year-old 2021-22 Hart Trophy winner is set to see his current $11.6MM AAV contract expire after next season, and will gain a full no-movement clause this summer, giving Toronto no opportunity to consider trades for him should he decide he wants to test the open market.
Toronto must be thankful, then, that testing the waters of unrestricted free agency does not seem to be Matthews’ top priority. As relayed by Northstar Bets’ Chris Johnston, Matthews told the media that his “intention” is to remain a Maple Leaf, and that he would like an extension to be finalized before next season. It’s worth noting that Matthews’ comments on his future today will feel extremely similar to what John Tavares communicated to the media as he approached the expiry of his contract with the New York Islanders, and Tavares ultimately did leave as a free agent. So that is to say that even with these comments, there remains a ways to go before Matthews’ pen hits the paper on a lucrative new long-term deal, and the possibility that he departs still exists. But in terms of each outcome’s likelihood, Matthews’ comments today have to give confidence to the Toronto market that their team’s best player is in it for the long haul.
Other notes regarding the Maple Leafs:
- One player who seems unlikely to be signing a contract extension to remain in Toronto is 27-year-old winger Michael Bunting. Today Bunting told the media, including Sports Illustrated’s David Alter, that he didn’t have any contract talks about an extension with the Maple Leafs during the season. While it’s possible Bunting, who scored 23 goals and 49 points this season before disappointing in the playoffs, could ultimately find a way to return to Toronto, it does not seem as though that outcome is likely. Bunting has a chance to headline a class of free agent left wingers relatively thin in top-level talent, meaning it’s a strong possibility that he’s able to earn a better offer from another club than Toronto is in a position to make.
- Speaking with the media today, Maple Leafs center Ryan O’Reilly also answered questions on his future. Johnston reports that O’Reilly sounded “more inclined to test the open market on July 1 than try and work out an extension” with Toronto, which once again feels like the likeliest outcome given the cap constraints Toronto’s big contracts have forced them to work with. After a disappointing 40-game run this season with the St. Louis Blues, O’Reilly was dealt to Toronto and the trade seemed to revive his game. He scored 11 points in 13 regular-season games and nine in 11 playoff games, including a few important contributions in high-leverage moments. But having significantly helped his stock with his playoff performance, O’Reilly may also have placed himself out of Toronto’s price range for a contract extension.
- The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun relays word from Maple Leafs netminder Ilya Samsonov regarding the injury that knocked him out of the team’s second-round playoff series against Florida. Samsonov said an unfortunate collision with teammate Luke Schenn caused him to suffer a neck injury, and it’s that injury that forced rookie Joseph Woll between the pipes. Samsonov ultimately finished his nine-game run in the playoffs with sub-par numbers (.898 save percentage and 3.13 goals-against-average in nine games played) though he did manage to backstop Toronto to their long-awaited playoff series victory. Samsonov added in his media availability that he hopes to be able to re-sign with Toronto, who will have the opportunity to retain his rights as an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent with a $1.8MM qualifying offer.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs signed 2021 sixth-round pick Vyacheslav Peksa to a three-year, $851k AAV entry-level deal. Peksa, a 20-year-old Russian netminder, has been developing in KHL club Ak Bars Kazan’s system for a few seasons now. Last year was his final campaign at Russia’s junior level and he posted a .936 save percentage in 56 games played. This year, he moved to Russia’s second-tier men’s pro league and posted an impressive .921 save percentage in 40 games, vastly outplaying Vladimir Mosin and Ilya Golubev, the two other goalies on his team who also happen to be older than Peksa. This move allows Peksa to continue his development in North America, where he could either end up with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies or ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers.
Flames Reportedly Request GM Search Interview With Leafs Assistant GM Brandon Pridham
- Who the Calgary Flames are targeting in their search for a general manager to replace the departed Brad Treliving has gotten some more clarity, as DailyFaceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the team plans on pursuing permission to interview Toronto Maple Leafs assistant general manager Brandon Pridham. Pridham, 49, has been with the Maple Leafs’ organization throughout their current rebuild, beginning as special assistant to the general manager before being promoted to assistant general manager for the 2018-19 season. Per Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson, Pridham “has a reputation as a salary-cap whiz,” which is a trait that the Flames could certainly use as they navigate a future with some key players, such as Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin, and Chris Tanev on contracts that expire after next season.
- With the elimination of the Edmonton Oilers at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights last night, the later ends of the NHL draft order were finalized further. Edmonton’s first-round pick, one that belongs to Nashville thanks to the Mattias Ekholm trade, is now locked as pick 24, while the draft pick the St. Louis Blues are receiving from the Toronto Maple Leafs is locked into the number-25 slot. San Jose will pick at 26 with New Jersey’s first-rounder received in the Timo Meier trade, while Colorado will pick 27th, and Toronto will select 28th using the Boston Bruins’ first-round pick, an asset they acquired from the Washington Capitals in the Rasmus Sandin trade.
Kyle Dubas Slated To Meet The Media Monday
- For anyone expecting immediate front office changes in Toronto following their second-round loss to Florida, that might not be the case. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is scheduled to speak to the media on Monday. Generally, if a team knows that they’re firing an executive, that person wouldn’t be taking questions. It doesn’t mean changes won’t be coming but, for now at least, Dubas remains at the helm.
Maple Leafs Notes: Matthews, Woll, Hildeby
Heading into an offseason that promises plenty of big changes, Chris Johnston of NorthStarBets.ca reports the Toronto Maple Leafs top priority is obvious. Johnston writes that signing Auston Matthews to a long-term high-priced contract has to be the team’s number one priority and filling in the pieces around him can come next.
Matthews is now heading into the final year of his current contract after the Leafs were knocked out of the playoffs by the Florida Panthers in five games. Matthews has earned just over $11.6MM per season since his entry-level contract expired in 2019 and is due a raise on that enormous contract. Matthews has a strong case to surpass Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM annual cap hit as the highest paid player in the league, but Johnston believes the Maple Leafs need to do whatever it takes to get the 25 year old’s name on a new contract and they are eligible to do that as soon as July 1.
The Maple Leafs have some other huge questions to answer this offseason. William Nylander is also eligible to sign a contract extension as he could be an unrestricted free agent in 2024, like Matthews. Mitch Marner and John Tavares has just two years left on their contracts, but no decision needs to be made on them quite yet. Off the ice, general manager Kyle Dubas is also a free agent as his contract expires on June 30. Head coach Sheldon Keefe has one year left on his contract and the team needs to decide if they extend him, replace him or let him ride out the final year of his deal.
- Also in Leaf Land, Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun reports Joseph Woll will return to the Toronto Marlies next week. Woll was the team’s number three netminder most of the season behind Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov, but with both of those goalies injured in the playoffs, Woll started the final two games of the Maple Leafs season. Murray was great for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL this season, posting a 2.37 GAA and a .927 SV% in 21 games. The Marlies are facing elimination after losing the first two games of their Best-of-5 Division Final series and will play Game 3 on Wednesday.
- Speaking of Toronto Marlies goaltenders, Dennis Hildeby was returned to the AHL earlier today per the AHL transactions page. He was called up after Samsonov’s injury and served as the Maple Leafs third string, in case of emergency goalie in the final few games of the postseason. The 21 year old played most of this season in Sweden’s SHL with Farjestad and was the Maple Leafs fourth round pick in 2022.
Update To Jake McCabe Trade Conditions
- While the storylines involving the franchise’s general direction might draw more attention, Maple Leafs’ elimination last night also made some more minor news. One of the conditions of the Maple Leafs’ trade for Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty was finalized as McCabe played in more than 50% of Toronto’s playoff games. As a result, all McCabe must do is play in more than 25% of the Maple Leafs’ regular-season games next year, and Toronto will receive a 2025 fifth-round pick as part of the deal. Should McCabe play in less than 25% of games, the Maple Leafs will instead receive Chicago’s 2025 third-round pick.
Latest On Kyle Dubas, Sheldon Keefe
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ season ended last night, with the team eliminated five games into the second round thanks to an overtime goal from Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins. Their elimination from Stanley Cup contention begins what is likely to be a franchise-defining offseason.
General manager Kyle Dubas is on an expiring contract, while “core four” franchise faces such as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander are eligible to receive contract extensions this summer. Those players will also see the trade restrictions tighten on their existing contracts, with Matthews and Marner receiving full no-move clauses on July 1st, while Nylander receives a 10-team no-trade list at the same time.
While past playoff disappointments did not catalyze any major organizational changes, it seems this offseason could be different. The Athletic’s James Mirtle shed some light on the challenges Toronto faces heading into their offseason, reporting that keeping Toronto’s front office together “will be far more complicated than simply coming up with a modest extension offer” for Dubas. (subscription link)
According to Mirtle, Dubas “will want to be paid handsomely,” especially if there are offers from competing franchises. Mirtle also writes that Dubas “will want greater job security and autonomy within whatever structure Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment settles on” for the future of the organization. It’s fair to wonder whether the Maple Leafs’ top decision-makers are ready to make that sort of commitment to Dubas after this disappointing playoff loss.
Tied to Dubas for the vast majority of his coaching career, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe’s future is similarly up in the air. Mirtle reports that if the Maple Leafs do end up with a new general manager, “it’s hard to see [Keefe] retained, after four consecutive playoff losses.” But even if Dubas remains in place, Mirtle reports that “there will be a lot of pressure to make a change” behind the bench, especially given some of the high-profile names currently available to be hired as a team’s new head coach.
The reasoning behind Keefe’s departure seems to stem largely from his failure to win more than one playoff series at the helm of some extremely talented Maple Leafs teams. This is likely due to the fact that excluding the postseason, Keefe’s body of work behind the bench in Toronto has been stellar.
He originally rose to the role of head coach after the firing of Mike Babcock, when Toronto was in a relatively tenuous place. He immediately stabilized the Maple Leafs’ season and guided them to a 27-15-5 record in his first campaign behind the bench.
But that regular-season success would go largely forgotten as Toronto fell in the qualifying-round series to the Columbus Blue Jackets, a loss that would serve as a sign of things to come.
Keefe went 35-14-7 the following season but saw his team blow a 3-1 series lead to their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, in the first round of the playoffs. Over the past two years following that series, Keefe has amassed a 104-42-18 record, and his sterling track record of regular-season success is certainly not easily dismissed given how difficult consistent contention in the NHL can be. But Maple Leafs fans surely expected more from this star-studded era, and Keefe’s teams have failed to provide much of anything after the conclusion of the regular season.
It’s a similar story for Dubas, who has made quite a few excellent moves and rightfully earned a reputation as one of the league’s better general managers over the course of his tenure in Toronto. He has made several moves that have paid off wonderfully, such as the team’s buy-low acquisitions of Jack Campbell, Michael Bunting, Ilya Samsonov, and to a lesser extent Conor Timmins. But some larger bets have backfired. Both Matt Murray and Petr Mrazek proved to be salary cap anchors rather than saviors in the crease, while some trades have not aged as well as the team might have hoped, such as deals that sent away players such as Nazem Kadri, Mason Marchment, or Alexander Barabanov.
So, like anyone else who has ever been in charge of team-building for an NHL franchise, Dubas has made his fair share of mistakes. But are his mistakes, which have been largely outnumbered by shrewd moves, enough to punch his ticket out of Toronto? Or will any Dubas departure instead be more related to the inescapable reality that his plethora of savvy moves has not yet resulted in any sort of sustained playoff success?
This is the dilemma that the Maple Leafs face right now. They will have to navigate internal and/or external demands to make a change after such a disappointing string of early playoff exits with an understanding that there aren’t a whole lot of general managers who have won as consistently as Dubas, or head coaches with as many wins as Keefe.
As Mirtle indicates in his reporting, “ownership pressure” in Toronto “is sure to dial up to a new level, perhaps to the point they’re demanding substantive change rather than merely suggesting it,” as they may have in the past. So understanding that, could the first major change that gets made by Toronto be of the off-ice variety?
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images