As the NHL’s free agency period is only a month away, Last Word on Hockey’s NHL Rumours series is ramping up accordingly. Players are going to begin to think about where they want to spend the next years of their life in a post-pandemic world. Teams are beginning to plan out their finances over the next few uncertain years. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Vegas Golden Knights all make an appearance in today’s edition.
NHL Rumours
Toronto Maple Leafs
Rumour: Per the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan, pending free agent winger Kyle Clifford will test the open market and not return to the team.
Kyle Clifford will be exploring the open market, his agent, Todd Reynolds, tells me. “He’s heading for free agency. The #Leafs are aware of that.” TOR’s financial situation has forced the issue.
— Terry Koshan (@koshtorontosun) September 16, 2020
Analysis: It appears Clifford’s stint as a Leaf will last all of 16 regular-season and five playoff games.
Acquired mid-season from the Los Angeles Kings, Clifford’s physical style of play made almost instant impacts on the Leafs roster. However, the offence just never game. Clifford only had three points in the regular season with the Leafs and went pointless in the playoffs. He was used sparingly, consistently averaging under ten minutes a game. His possession numbers with the team were ghastly, posting a 43.3 percent Corsi For and a relative Corsi For of -7.5, a decidedly negative impact. Combined with a PDO of 101.3 with the Leafs, it becomes apparent that Clifford’s eye-test may have been deceptively good.
It’s smart for the Leafs to move on from him in such a tight cap situation. While he does bring a unique physical aspect, his net impact on the team was decidedly poor. Considering he would’ve definitely been paid at least $1 million on this deal, anything would’ve been an overpay. Toronto needs everybody making a positive impact on the ice, and Clifford didn’t do that in his 21-game audition.
Vancouver Canucks
Rumour: Irfan Gaffar, appearing on Vancouver’s Sportsnet 650, reports that the expected extension price for Tyler Toffoli will be a four-year deal at $4.8 million a season.
.@irfgaffar on Toffoli/Markstrom: They’ve made it a priority that they went to get these 2 guys in. Toffoli has expressed interest in being in Vancouver & playing with Pettersson. Pettersson has talked to Benning about having him in the room. 4.8 for 4 years could get deal done
— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) September 14, 2020
Analysis: Canucks general manager Jim Benning is on a hot streak right now. If this deal gets done, it may prove to be one of the best in hockey over the short-term.
After a few disappointing seasons in L.A., Toffoli came to the Canucks at the trade deadline this year and fit right in. Posting 10 points in 10 games, he developed instant chemistry with Elias Pettersson. While fighting injury in the playoffs, Toffoli still managed to post four points in seven games.
$4.8 million usually comes in at about market value for a middling second-line winger. Toffoli is a hot bit more than that, with some estimating him to receive over $6 million a year on his next contract. While the obvious financial constraints from the pandemic come into play here, it’s still a discount from the Canucks’ perspective.
Vegas Golden Knights
Rumour: Darren Dreger, on an appearance on TSN1050, suggests that the Knights are at the top of Alex Pietrangelo‘s list of preferred destinations this fall.
Analysis: The rich truly do get richer. With one of the best defence cores in the league, highlighted by Nate Schmidt, Shea Theodore, and Alec Martinez, the Knights are already a top team in the Western Conference. The addition of Pietrangelo would be one that could propel them to a Presidents’ Trophy season just four years into their existence.
Pietrangelo, while never winning a Norris Trophy, is still one of the league’s premier offensive defensemen. With Vegas’ premier shutdown d-men in Nick Holden and Zach Whitecloud, little responsibility would fall on Pietrangelo to limit his point production. Already having posted 52 points this past season in 70 games, a move to Vegas could truly let him break out. There’s a real opportunity at hand for him to lead defensemen in points next year. He could certainly help facilitate offence with Vegas’ forward group. But still, the Knights’ cap situation makes this hard to envision at the moment. While anything is possible, a signing that would cost the team this much seems unlikely. However, general manager Kelly McCrimmon could certainly make the moves necessary to free up space. But it won’t be easy.
Stay Tuned for Friday’s edition of NHL Rumours.
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