In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed two major forward free agents on Sunday leaving them over the salary cap ceiling. There will be some LTIR assistance, but there’s still work to be done to get under the cap. How will they do it? Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins could have gotten Tyler Bertuzzi back but spent all of their cap money. Is a big trade the play now for GM Don Sweeney? Finally, what did the Tampa Bay Lightning offer Alex Killorn before he left for the Anaheim Ducks?
Maple Leafs Need to Get Back Under the Salary Cap
According to Kevin McGran’s report in the Toronto Star, the Maple Leafs’ recent signings of Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi have caused them to exceed the $83.5 million salary cap by $8.1 million. In addition to this, they still need to sign their restricted free-agent goaltender, Ilya Samsonov, whose contract is estimated to be between $2.5 million and $4 million per season.
During the offseason, teams are permitted to surpass the salary cap by 10 percent, but they must be cap compliant by the start of the regular season in October. To alleviate some of the financial burden, the Leafs can place defenseman Jake Muzzin, who is permanently sidelined, on long-term injury reserve. Another option to create cap space is to either trade or buy out goaltender Matt Murray, with the Leafs responsible for just over $4.6 million of his contract.
McGran writes:
Buying out Murray, a possibility before the season starts, would create $4 million in cap savings this season. But other moves could be necessary as well.
source – ‘Leafs add Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, but there are cap challenges ahead’ – Kevin McGran – Toronto Star – 07/02/2023
Once Muzzin is placed on LTIR, the Leafs would still be $2.4 million over the salary cap. Trading Murray would prove difficult and another buyout window opens up if Samsonov elects for arbitration before the July 5 deadline. As per CapFriendly, “If the Leafs do get access to a second buyout window via an arbitration filing, the requirements for a buyout in that window are as follows: 1- player was on the club’s reserve list at 3 pm at trade deadline 2- players AAV is minimum $4M Murray meets both reqs.”
Are Bruins Looking at Mark Scheifele?
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that with uncertainty surrounding Patrice Bergeron’s future, the Boston Bruins are actively exploring the trade market in order to strengthen their roster for the potential departure of Bergeron and David Krejci. In their pursuit of a top-six forward, particularly a center, the Bruins have shown interest in Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele.
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Scheifele, who possesses a $6.125 million cap hit and a 10-team no-trade clause, is in the final year of his contract. While trade talks involving Scheifele have been relatively quiet, many teams are waiting to observe the free agent market’s developments. Given Boston’s limited options, Scheifele could be an ideal fit for a team currently lacking a reliable No. 1 and No. 2 center. It’s a situation worth monitoring closely.
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The issue is cap hit, so there would need to be equal dollars coming back in the deal or being sent elsewhere. Bertuzzi’s agent confirmed that the forward circled back to the Bruins when it was learned that Bertuzzi wasn’t going to get a long-term deal, but the Bruins had already spent their cap money. Greg Wyshynski of ESPN writes, “By the time the “pivot” to a one-year deal happened, Bruins had already committed that cap space to other players.”
Lightning Made a Real Pitch to Keep Killorn
As per Pierre LeBrun, the Tampa Bay Lightning tried hard to keep Alex Killorn in the fold and not see him walk away in free agency. He writes they made a long-term pitch to keep him that wasn’t actually far off the total dollar value of what he took to sign in Anaheim.
LeBrun writes:
By the way, I hear that Tampa’s last offer to Killorn was eight years at a $2.5 million AAV, which is $20 million total regardless of whether he actually would have played the entirety of the contract. I love that Tampa tried that. But in the end, you also get why Killorn took the $25 million, four-year deal in Anaheim.
source – ‘LeBrun: Why the Predators bet big on character and other early takeaways from NHL free agency’ – Pierre LeBrun – The Athletic – 07/02/2023
When you consider that Tampa is a no-tax state for players and California is a heavy-tax state, the take-home pay for Killorn isn’t going to vary all that much.
