On the Toronto Maple Leafs …
Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star: James van Riemsdyk possibly walked out the Maple Leafs dressing room on Friday for possibly the last time.
“Definitely a weird feeling, possibly walking out of here for the last time,” van Riemsdyk said as he spoke to the media for the last time this season.”
JvR is one of six unrestricted free agents for the Maple Leafs, and it’s expected that he’ll sign somewhere else. The 32-year old Tyler Bozak could also be playing elsewhere.
The Maple Leafs could go with William Nylander as their third line center between Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen.
“It takes time … mentally, you get away from it all, but the way I approach everything is to gather as much information as possible, look at things that are of value to you,” van Riemsdyk said.
“And I’m not that far into it yet, but I’ve (spoken) with guys from other teams and they have good things to say about where they play. But you dig deeper than that.”
van Riemsdyk said there hasn’t been contract extension with the Leafs.
Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun: Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello’s contract is up soon and he won’t talk about his future yet.
“Part of my personality is not thinking about myself or worrying about myself,” Lamoriello said. “I don’t believe in talking about that. How all of this (speculation) comes out, I respect it, I understand it, but I just won’t talk about it.”
Rumors will surround the Maple Leafs leading up to the start of free agency. They’ve already been linked to John Tavares and John Carlson.
The Leafs need to improve their blue line, with free agent options including Mike Green, Calvin de Haan and Ian Cole. There could be others available on the trade market.
“There is no one position you are ever satisfied with,” Lamoriello said. “It’s not a hidden secret that we tried to upgrade our defence (at the trade deadline), but at the expense, it was not the right thing to do.
“Whatever area can get better, you do everything you can. But you can’t pull it out of the sky either.”
Will defenseman Jake Gardiner be back with the Maple Leafs next season? He’s entering the final year of his deal.