- Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: The Toronto Maple Leafs cap number after Jeff Finger was waived now sits at $4,079,500, but can change due to injuries, recalls etc. Cox thinks this now means that the Leafs will look to collect some bad contracts. Upwards of 10 teams are close to the cap and could consider moving a body or two to free up a little space. Anaheim is at $56 million and are not a good a hockey team. Vancouver, Boston, and Philadelphia are flirting with the cap ceiling. Dallas and St. Louis have self imposed budget, and are fine for this year, but heading into next season it may not alright.
- Michael Traikos of the National Post: Ron Wilson had this to say about Finger being placed on waivers,
“We have seven guys better than him right now,” said Wilson. “And that’s really what it came down to. We’re not going to carry eight defencemen. We don’t even want to carry two extra forwards, so I think going forward this will be fine.
Brent Lebda is off Injured Reserved, but won’t be in the lineup tonight against the Penguins. There is a chance he plays on Friday against the Rangers.
- James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail: An excellent, in-depth look at the Maple Leafs cap situation after the Jeff Finger demotion. It is well worth the read if you are interested in the Leafs. Finger counts $112,903 against the salary cap, so his cap number if he remains in the AHL all year is $3,387,097. Bonus Cushion – $4.35 million. Projected salary totals (current, healthy roster) – $53.27 million. Max total bonuses – $5.12 million. Cap space before bonuses – $4.73 million.