Wayne Simmonds thinks he could make an impact on the Toronto Maple Leafs
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: There is going to be lots of uncertainty with free agency this offseason with the NHL economy due to the pandemic. Teams have to deal with the flat salary cap, while some may be told by ownership to reduce payroll.
Free agents like Alex Pietrangelo, Torey Krug and Taylor Hall should be fine. Things are a little more up in the air for players like Wayne Simmonds.
Simmonds said he has no idea what lies ahead in free agency but states that he’s 100 percent healthy now. At the right price says Simmonds would be a good add for a playoff team. Simmonds would like to land with Cup contender, to be a player to put a team over the top. His hometown Toronto Maple Leafs?
“I moved up to Aurora (north of Toronto) probably three summers ago, my wife and I and our daughter,’’ Simmonds said. “I’ve been walking around the neighbourhood way more frequently than I usually do because I’ve been here a lot longer than normal and all I keep hearing is, `When are you going to sign with the Leafs?’
“So of course it’s crossed my mind. I know they’re in a bit of a salary cap situation and things of that nature, but you know I’m open to everything, Toronto’s got a great core of players and I think that’s definitely a team where I could go in and make an impact right away. It’s up to the teams. Whoever wants to choose me, I’ll be waiting. I’ll definitely be ready to go.’’
The Buffalo Sabres haven’t totally closed the door on re-signing Simmonds even though things didn’t go well for both sides after they acquired him.
Blues could move out more salary
Luke Fox of Sportsnet: The St. Louis Blues didn’t waste much time and moved Jake Allen while the goaltending market was hot.
“Some of the teams I talked to like Jake as a goaltender but didn’t want to give any assets at this time for that,” said Armstrong, preferring to grab a third-round pick and not retain any salary ($4.35 million) while he could. “For us, one in the hand was better than two in the bush.”
The Blues have cleared some cap room to hopefully help extend free agent defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Vince Dunn, but Tyler Bozak and Alex Steen shouldn’t feel safe just yet. Both have a year left on their deals.
Trading Colton Parayko would be a blockbuster move and the Blues can’t afford to mess that one up if they decide to move him.