Questions for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Jonas Siegel and James Mirtle of The Athletic: Again, Toronto appears to be one team impervious to the pandemic. This translates into spend, spend, spend, and acquire as needed. Alex Pietrangelo presents as the biggest target defensively. Expect Toronto to go all-in with a huge offer. Can they afford him ultimately? That is a better question for down the road. However, Toronto needs a defenseman of his caliber.
Injuries can wreck top-heavy teams but that is the gamble with going for it. As for moves, Morgan Rielly isn’t untouchable. Then, there is Travis Dermott. Depth trades may be where Kyle Dubas postures. Middle-six forwards like Alex Kerfoot have some versatility. Then, there is Pierre Engvall who could more easily be moved.
Does Toronto move their first-round pick? If it gets them Pietrangelo, that pick is all but gone already. Toronto must do what it needs to do here. That makes them a better team going forward even if there are repercussions for that move.
Philippe Myers and contract scenarios for Philadelphia
Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic: At least, Chuck Fletcher does not have a group of restricted free agents to worry about this offseason. The only player that involves actual roster building may be Philippe Myers. Myers went from on the fringe to a must have number two right-handed defenseman. He had 16 points in 50 games and provides some unexpected offense.
So, what could he be worth even in a pandemic market? With a flat cap for the next three years, any bridge deal will be lower than usual. Philadelphia can qualify Myers for just $730,000 which may knock down his overall AAV on a new deal. The amount of games played also helps the Philadelphia Flyers here.
So, it is plausible that Philadelphia could pay Myers at an AAV of $2 million or less for a two or three-year deal. It would be a nice coup for the Flyers and can help them in paying other players down the road. A longer deal could cost around $4 to $4.5 million AAV and that is a road Philadelphia does not want to head towards.