Will Jake McCabe Close on a Deal to Stay in Toronto? What About Other Free Agents?
Dave Pagnotta and Dennis Bernstein of the Fourth Period discussed the Toronto Maple Leafs and their pending unrestricted free agents this season ahead of the game Tuesday night in Utah. Pagnotta suggests the Maple Leafs and Jake McCabe are close, while Bernstein thinks it should be a wait-and-see approach with these players.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: The Latest on Jake McCabe and Toronto Maple Leafs
Dave Pagnotta: “Another group of discussions that have already gotten underway from the Toronto Maple Leaf side of things, they’ve had contract negotiations with John Tavares, Matthew Knies and Jake McCabe’s camp. And for the most part, they’re relatively loose, with the exception of McCabe.
It certainly sounds like the update I got ahead of this game here on Tuesday is that they’re having pretty decent conversations and that those negotiations could intensify in the coming days.
I don’t get the sense we’ll see a deal happen before Wednesday’s game in Montreal, when the Leafs open the season against the Habs. I have to somehow get to that game from here, so that’ll be interesting. But it sounds like over the next several days and perhaps weeks, we may see an extension in place between the Leafs and McCabe. Bless your 4 a.m. wake-up call.”
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Dennis Bernstein: “First of all, so good luck with that. 3:30. fortunate. I’m in Los Angeles. I don’t need to get up that early. So yeah, look, here’s the thing with the Leafs, maybe a wait and see attitude isn’t so bad for the Leafs given how they perform in the playoffs.
So, while you want to maybe keep these guys home at a reasonable price, I might pump the brakes if I’m Tree (Brad Treliving). Let’s see what this team does, at least going into the season in the postseason. So would I be in rush to sign all these free agents keep that core together only if they win in the playoffs Dave.
Pagnotta: “we’ll see how that kind of progresses. The history lately has suggested not womp womp, but we’ll see.”