Biggest names that could get moved
Craig Custance of The Athletic: Surveying 21 agents on the biggest named players that could be traded in the next year.
Patrik Laine – Winnipeg Jets – 4
Jack Eichel – Buffalo Sabres – 4
Mitch Marner – Toronto Maple Leafs – 3
William Nylander – Toronto Maple Leafs – 2
Max Pacioretty – Vegas Golden Knights – 1
James van Riemsdyk – Philadelphia Flyers – 1
Marc-Andre Fleury – Vegas Golden Knights – 1
Zach Werenski – Columbus Blue Jackets – 1
Ryan McDonagh – Tampa Bay Lightning
Jonathan Quick – Los Angeles Kings – 1
Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews – Chicago Blackhawks – 1
One agent:
“I’d say Mitch Marner. They shouldn’t have signed John Tavares. His skating is declining every year. They should have just focused on the two younger kids and used the money elsewhere. I know it’s great to have the two centers … but you can’t have three players making over $10 million.”
Another agent:
“Jonathan Quick comes to mind. Taylor Hall comes to mind. Taylor Hall or Jack Eichel will be out of Buffalo. I think Aaron Ekblad will be out of Florida and Max Pacioretty will be out of Vegas. Potentially Johnny Gaudreau based on how Calgary does. I’ll take Jack Eichel.”
Leafs don’t really have any bad contracts … The Core could change with another quick exit
Luke Fox of Sportsnet: (mailbag) Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said earlier in the offseason that they don’t really have any bad contracts.
“We don’t really have any contracts that we look at and say, ‘We need to get rid of this player. This player isn’t delivering on it at all,’ ” general manager Kyle Dubas said this off-season. “Some may disagree — and that’s fine, and that’s fair — but we’re pretty content with our group.”
John Tavares deal in a few years may not provide full value. Mitch Marner’s deal may not look great beside Brayden Point‘s contract but he’s still only 23-years old and is signed through his best years.
Alex Kerfoot and his $3.5 million need to make more of an impact in the bottom-six.
If the Maple Leafs don’t make the playoffs or have another first-round exit, believe that Brandon Shanahan, Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe would get one more kick at the can in 2021-22.
That group may be safe but the Core Four forwards – Tavares, Marner, Auston Matthews and William Nylander – might go through a change.