Miller signing, suspensions and Leafs earn Team of the Week: Around the Atlantic

Miller signing, suspensions and Leafs earn Team of the Week: Around the Atlantic

It was a controversial week in the Atlantic division. The Boston Bruins dominated the headlines with their signing of Mitchell Miller and two players were suspended. Also, for the first time this season the Leafs have earned the Team of the Week honour.
Miller signing
On Friday the Bruins signed Miller to an entry level contract. Two days later they have parted ways. Immediately after Miller was signed, the entire hockey world lost respect for Cam Neely, Don Sweeney, and the Bruins organization.
Either the Bruins management team is completely inept, or they didn’t care about Miller’s past. Neely claimed they thought Miller’s bullying of Isaiah Meyer-Crothers was an “isolated incident” and they changed their mind on signing him based off new information.
The story of Miller’s repeated physical and emotional abuse of Meyer-Crothers has been public since Miller was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in 2020. There is no way the Bruins were unaware of the extent of Miller’s bullying.
Neely and the Bruins only chose to rescind their contract offer to Miller because of the public backlash. Had the blowback not been so extreme, Miller would be playing professional hockey in Providence right now.
This is another tough look for the NHL …

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Author: Scott Ony / The Leafs Nation

Král gets the call, Tverberg tearing it up, Grebyonkin’s opportunity: Leafs Prospect Roundup

Král gets the call, Tverberg tearing it up, Grebyonkin’s opportunity: Leafs Prospect Roundup

This past week was another rough one for the Leafs, and with Sheldon Keefe searching for anything that could help get his club going, we saw the NHL debut of another Leafs prospect.
Filip Král, drafted in the fifth round back in 2018, was recalled to the Leafs and made his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night. He skated on a pair alongside steadying veteran presence Mark Giordano, seeing just under 12 minutes of ice time and finishing with a +1 rating. He was back in the same spot on Sunday night against the Ducks but played just over eight minutes in another game that ended up slipping through the Leafs’ collective hands.
There were promising flashes from Král in the first two games of his NHL career. He showed an ability to quickly retrieve pucks below his own goal line and make the proper read in a timely fashion in order to start the breakout – something that the Leafs’ defenders have struggled with so far this season. But there were also a few instances where Král bobbled the puck or telegraphed passes that were easy to disrupt, leading to turnovers.
All in all, the young Czech blueliner held his own in his first tas …

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Author: Nick Richard / The Leafs Nation

Rielly vs. Sandin on the right side, why Robertson will have to wait, and not shopping the waiver wire: Leaflets

Rielly vs. Sandin on the right side, why Robertson will have to wait, and not shopping the waiver wire: Leaflets

It feels like it’s been a long ass week. I had to check to see when the last time I wrote a Leaflets post was because it seems like it’s been forever. It was apparently last week. Maybe the rest of you aren’t struggling with the passage of time as much as I am, but I’m sure this pointless article intro is giving you some of that experience. Anyway, here are some bite-sized thoughts on the Leafs heading into a week filled with cuts and Justin Holl trade rumours.
Rielly vs. Sandin on the right side
A lot was made during the contract process that Rasmus Sandin didn’t want any part of playing on his unfavoured side. Or maybe that is something we just started putting out there to justify the delays in negotiations.
A lot has also been made of Morgan Rielly’s willingness to play on the right side, and Sheldon Keefe’s quit reaction of pointing out that he’s giving Rielly his reps there but doesn’t have much interest in moving him off the left side.
In reality, both of these players have a good chance of seeing the majority of their season on the left side, because injuries happen and that’s why Victor Mete and Jordie Benn are here, to take the guess …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Around the Atlantic: Zadina, Myers sign new deals, Sandin headlines list of remaining RFA’s

Around the Atlantic: Zadina, Myers sign new deals, Sandin headlines list of remaining RFA’s

It has been a quiet week in the Atlantic division. There haven’t been any new acquisitions but two RFA’s have signed. It appears most of the teams in the Atlantic have their rosters set for the upcoming season. There are however still four unsigned restricted free agents.
Zadina, Myers sign new contracts
Since being selected sixth overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2018 draft Zadina has struggled to produce at the NHL level. Many thought he could be on his way out of Detroit this offseason. Instead they signed him to a three-year deal at an average annual value (AAV) of 1.825M.
Last season he scored ten goals and 24 points in 74 games (all career highs). While he improved his output, this still doesn’t match the expectations the team had for him when using a top ten selection.
Even though he has been unable to score consistently this contract could be a win for the Wings. At this point he is a low-end depth player but if his development gets back on track he could be underpaid by next season. If he doesn’t improve it’s a not much of a loss as the cap hit won’t hurt the Wings.
Philippe Myers was sent to Tampa Bay from Nashville in the Ryan McDonagh trade …

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Author: Scott Ony / The Leafs Nation

Rating the Leafs offseason (so far)

“It’s not even a week into free agency, why are rating the offseason already?”
A legitimate question conjured up reader, I’m glad you asked. While it’s still relatively early in the offseason, we’ve seen the draft go by as well as the most critical early days of free agency, it’s very easy to have an opinion at this point and you’ve probably been subject to a lot of them on social media. The intention here is to not only identify our 1-10 rating of the Leafs offseason so far, but weigh in on how Kyle Dubas and the Leafs could improve their score with us.
So let’s get started.
Mark Norman
(This was written before the Jarnkrok signing. That probably brings it to a 5.)
I think it’s a 3 out of 10 thus far. Taking into account that it was unlikely the Leafs were going to bring in A-listers because of their cap situation, I don’t think you could even call Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Adam Gaudette, Jordie Benn, or Victor Mete B-list options. And while, sure, they may provide some positive value, these feel like the type of moves you make in the second week of free agency, not the first two days. My excitement for these moves pales in comparison to my excitement about Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase last summer, even with knowing how Ritchie played out.
On the goaltending …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten added to Team Canada’s World Junior summer camp roster

It’s been quite the week for Fraser Minten. On Saturday, he was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the 38th overall pick, their top selection in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, and earlier today he was added to Team Canada’s summer development camp roster for the 2023 World Juniors.

UPDATE | Dylan James and Fraser Minten have been added to ’s National Junior Team summer development camp.
ROSTER https://t.co/C0zzE2GguC pic.twitter.com/kLa3Sx427b
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) July 12, 2022

From Vancouver, British Columbia, Minten has yet to represent Canada at the international level in his career, due in large part to the awkward schedule of IIHF events over the past two years due to COVID. Minten would have been on Team Canada’s roster for the World U18s had Kamloops, his WHL team, not still have been in action during the WHL playoffs.
Minten scored 20 goals and 55 points in 67 games with Kamloops this past season, elevating his game as the season progressed. He played his best hockey in the postseason, scoring six goals and 16 points in 17 playoff games.
As a 2004 birthdate, Minten will battle for a spot on the 2023 World Junior roster for the tournament in December but is also eligible for the 2024 tournament. A responsible, two-way centre, Minten could very well push for a depth spot on the 2023 roster if he has a strong showing at camp and a first half in the WHL.
Minten is the only Toronto Maple Leafs prospect at Team Canada camp and the lone member of his WHL team as well (although Logan Stankoven is already on the 2022 roster for the August tournament).
It will be a busy time for Minten, as Maple Leafs’ development camp will bring him right into Team Canada’s summer camp. Leafs development camp is anticipated to start on Friday and run through to early next week, while Team Canada’s camp is July 23-27 out in Calg …

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Author: Kyle Cushman / The Leafs Nation

Monday Rumour Recap: Latest on Murray, Kase, Campbell, and others

The start of free agency week hasn’t exactly gotten off to a slow start. There seem to be plenty of rumours either around the Leafs, Leafs adjacent, or potentially impactful to the Leafs. So here’s a brief recap of what is out there to get you caught up.

I’m told there’s some solid framework elements between the @Senators and @MapleLeafs however the potential completion of this deal is largely dependent on the comprehensive up to the minute medical due diligence by TML on Matt Murray’s health . @espn @NHL #HockeyTwitter
— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) July 11, 2022

This is obviously the big one to watch for Leafs fans, and it seems that the deal is essentially good to go and the Leafs doctors and front office are just deciding how good they feel about Matt Murray’s health. It never seems like an encouraging step, but better they do this and make their decision on complete data.
It’s very likely the Leafs will get around 50% salary retention for Murray. It also seems highly likely that the deal is going to be tilted largely in a Leafs direction for taking on this risk.
Here’s some more on Matt Murray from yesterday:
Friedman: Matt Murray talks intensifying between the Leafs and Sens

Hearing #Leafs will not be issuing a qualifying offer to Ondrej Kase, making him a UFA.
I’d expect Pierre Engvall will be qualified, but not 100% confirmed yet.
Not expecting many other surprises. #Canes plan to qualify Ethan Bear.@DailyFaceoff
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 11, 2022

Kyle Dubas has previously stated his intention to qualify Pierre Engvall, but was on the fence about Kase. It appears his mind has been made up and Kase will hit unrestricted free agency. Kase is very much a player the Leafs will double back on when he isn’t arbitration eligible, but the idea of locking into an arbitration ruling on an injury riddled player like Kase would be difficult.
Still no word on the remaining Leafs RFAs.
From the 32 Thoughts Podcast: Campbell likely to Edmonton, Kuemp …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Leaflets: What about Bob(rovsky)?, draft thoughts, and more

This is the week. Big stuff will be going down around the NHL and with the Leafs in need of two goaltenders, Toronto has no choice but to be in the thick of it. Today is the deadline for qualifying offers, it’s the last day to put someone on waivers for buyouts, and we don’t have a Leafs prospects camp roster yet. That’s a lot of stuff to tide us over until free agency opens on Wednesday.
The idea of Sergei Bobrovsky as an option seems less crazy
I don’t know if Florida has made their peace with the idea of sticking it out with Bobrovsky, but with a tough salary cap situation in the sunshine state there is a very real possibility that the Panthers will try to clear what they can with Bobrovsky’s contract. While it’s unlikely that the Panthers will be unloading Bobrovsky within their division, I submit to you that Bobrovsky might not be a bad option for the Leafs as a trade option from the third party involved.
Bobrovsky as a $10M AAV goaltender for 4 years has very little appeal. Bobrovsky if he can be brought down to around $5-6M he starts looking like a suitable option, one that has a better recent track record than M …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Around the Atlantic: Montreal picks first, Ottawa lands a superstar and Dubas cuts cap

It has been a heavy news week in the Atlantic division largely due to the NHL draft but there have also been several trades, some depth players re-signing, and new coaches hired. With free agency set to begin on July 13th rumours continue to swirl and teams are scrambling to lock up their guys before they hit the open market.
NHL Draft
Plenty of Atlantic division teams made massive moves on draft night. The Montreal Canadiens had the first pick, but it was the Ottawa Senators who acquired the best player. Prior to the draft, Ottawa traded their seventh overall selection, a second-round pick, and a fourth-round pick in 2024 to the Chicago Blackhawks for star winger Alex Debrincat. A two-time 40 goal scorer and only 24 years of age, Debrincat joins an Ottawa team already stacked with young talent. He is expected to play alongside 2020 third overall pick Tim Stutzle.
The Montreal Canadiens acquired a young Chicago Blackhawk as well. After they made Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkovsky the first overall pick, general manager Kent Hughes traded Alexander Romanov and pick 98 to the New York Islanders for pick 13. They quickly flipped that pick with pick 66 to Chicago for Kirby Dach. Chicago selected Dach third overall in 2019 but he …

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Author: Scott Ony / The Leafs Nation