Salary Cap: Fitting our guys under the cap next season.

Wafflewhipper

Registered User
Jan 18, 2014
14,114
5,694
I think trading gards to clear space to give franson a very similar contract makes a lot of sense

That is a option. Franson might want to go elsewhere anyway. Better to trade both lol. Yeah I'm serious. We have to account for the positive effect our defense depth gives us though. We are in position to reap the cap saving rewards of development. We should maybe not ignore that advantage.
 

Grant

LL Genius
Jan 16, 2012
14,193
1
London
So are these signings a good idea? Just spending up to the new cap and not getting anything new/better in return for that spending?

I do like signing Franson, Kadri, Bernier. I see them being important pieces to a teams success. People like Clarkson, Gardiner, Lupul I don't see being as important. Those guys, regardless of contract amount, aren't in my opinion integral pieces to a contending team.
 

New Liskeard

Registered User
Jul 7, 2007
10,486
334
This is a rough view on how I'd go about it based on play up to this point.

Re-sign
Bernier - $5.25m
Kadri - $4.25m - $4.75m
Winnik - $2.5m
Panik - QO @ $771,750k



These are the 4 main re-signings that I'd like to happen. I have Panik at his QO, But it's possible that it could be higher if he get more of an opportunity as the season goes. Winnik is very valuable on the PK and can give you solid 3rd line minutes. Kadri and Bernier are two guys who should be part of "the core" going forward IMO. Kadri has taken massive steps in his play without the puck this year; And Bernier is without a doubt the #1 and has made our goaltending the most stable it's been in a decade; 24 and 26 years of age respectively as well.


If there's enough room.

Santorelli - $3.5m - $4m
Franson - $3.75m - $4.25m
Holzer - $1m - $1.5m

While Both Santorelli and Franson have had impressive seasons thus far, I consider them both to be luxury signings at this point. Both are UFA's in contract a year and will be looking for multi-year deals I'm not sure we can do at this point. Holzer if he continues playing well is I'd like to keep, and may make some someone with a higher cap hit movable. I think it's important to have room for younger player(Nylander, Percy, Leivo, 3D Swedes) to make the club, So re-signing every one for next season isn't something I'd commit to anyway.

Trades(who's movable)

As of now we have just over $16m to spend for next years team for about 8-10 players, Pending how many we carry. After the players who I think are important to sign(first group) we'll have around 2m-3m to spend(not counting the estimated 3m cap growth) on 4-6 players.

So 3 obvious players to move out to make room, And 1 not so obvious

Lupul - $5.25m AAV
Gardiner - $4.050m AAV
Polak - $2.950m AAV
Reimer - $2.3m AAV

Tons of speculation about Lupul and Gardiner already, It seems likely that one of them at least won't be here even at the deadline perhaps. Both should net a good return with some form of a cap hit, But it should be move that opens up space. Polak isn't a deal that will happen, But at nearly $3m if some like Holzer or even Granberg/Nilsson can emerge next year it's another way to create cap room. For Reimer, They would probably like to move him before the deadline if they can.

Cant see Franson getting less than 5 likely 5.5. How much did Raymond get? Santa will look to get 3.5 likely 4-5 years. And hes worth it IMO. Curious to see Chuck's assessment.
 
Last edited:

headwire

Registered User
Jan 25, 2012
464
0
Toronto
Do you realize that he would be giving up about 4 million in tax money alone by signing here. Florida is one of the best places to play based on taxes alone.

I can not see him Signing here for anything less then Max Money.....and we can not afford to do this and remain competitive.

He'd more than make up the $4M in endorsements. Not to say that I think that he'll sign here. I'm pretty sure it's a pipe dream. However, we shouldn't consider taxes to be a deterrent to a superstar playing in the largest hockey market on the planet.

Edit: Additionally, it's not like the tax rate is zero playing in Florida. I'm no expert, but you'd still pay Federal income tax and, according to Wikipedia, he'd be paying a rate of almost 40% at his salary.
 

LEAFANFORLIFE23

Registered User
Jun 17, 2010
45,640
14,486
People always put Kadri in the must re sign camp but I just don't see it yes he has had a good stretch of production the last 4 games but that doesn't erase nearly 2 months of not producing.

I don't want to see us spend 5 million dollars on this guy I want to see us use him in a trade to get a real centre even if that guy costs more money because as well as he has produced the last 4 games whe can easily go on another long pointless streak
 

headwire

Registered User
Jan 25, 2012
464
0
Toronto
People always put Kadri in the must re sign camp but I just don't see it yes he has had a good stretch of production the last 4 games but that doesn't erase nearly 2 months of not producing.

I don't want to see us spend 5 million dollars on this guy I want to see us use him in a trade to get a real centre even if that guy costs more money because as well as he has produced the last 4 games whe can easily go on another long pointless streak

This is where stat watching fails to tell the true picture of a player. For weeks now, Kadri has often been our best forward on the ice. Up until recently, he hadn't been getting PP time, so this is why we're seeing a spike in his stats. Kadri should definitely be re-signed and given a raise.
 

HellasLEAF

'93 to Infinity
Sep 14, 2006
15,342
1,798
this team looks to be deeper than next seasons. for all the bad contracts we have many quality pieces on the cheap. raises are coming.

hopefully we make noise come playoff time.
 

Grant

LL Genius
Jan 16, 2012
14,193
1
London
Whether a guy is a 35 point center or a 70 point center, you can never have too many of them.
 

LEAFANFORLIFE23

Registered User
Jun 17, 2010
45,640
14,486
This is where stat watching fails to tell the true picture of a player. For weeks now, Kadri has often been our best forward on the ice. Up until recently, he hadn't been getting PP time, so this is why we're seeing a spike in his stats. Kadri should definitely be re-signed and given a raise.

You call it stat watching but when a guy is going to be looking for 5 million and let's be honest it will probably be close to that stats matter
 

headwire

Registered User
Jan 25, 2012
464
0
Toronto
You call it stat watching but when a guy is going to be looking for 5 million and let's be honest it will probably be close to that stats matter

Absolutely, you want your $5M guys to be contributing points. However, Kadri is on pace for a 50pt season while having improved his faceoffs and defensive play. Given that the cap is projected to be $73M next year, and that $5M is less than 7% of that, and assuming that Kadri chips in 50 points or better, I'd say he's worth $5M.

Some big ifs, but let's give the team the season before making sweeping statements and decisions.
 

Dustin

Registered User
Sep 24, 2014
5,001
1,346
Absolutely, you want your $5M guys to be contributing points. However, Kadri is on pace for a 50pt season while having improved his faceoffs and defensive play. Given that the cap is projected to be $73M next year, and that $5M is less than 7% of that, and assuming that Kadri chips in 50 points or better, I'd say he's worth $5M.

Some big ifs, but let's give the team the season before making sweeping statements and decisions.

Yup. Couldn't agree more. Further more Kadri is young. I would rather keep Kadri and get rid of an older player than risk Kadri developing and producing even more somewhere else.
 

King85Kong

Playoffs?
Nov 24, 2013
4,006
0
Toronto
People always put Kadri in the must re sign camp but I just don't see it yes he has had a good stretch of production the last 4 games but that doesn't erase nearly 2 months of not producing.

I don't want to see us spend 5 million dollars on this guy I want to see us use him in a trade to get a real centre even if that guy costs more money because as well as he has produced the last 4 games whe can easily go on another long pointless streak

44 points in 48 games, then 50 in 79 games, now on pace for around 50. Pretty good production from a second line center by age 24, compared to other 2nd line centers in the league. His defensive game is doing really well and faceoff numbers are coming up. Turning into a solid two-way player. These are the type of players you keep. We have other players that can be traded if room is needed.
 

Wafflewhipper

Registered User
Jan 18, 2014
14,114
5,694
People always put Kadri in the must re sign camp but I just don't see it yes he has had a good stretch of production the last 4 games but that doesn't erase nearly 2 months of not producing.

I don't want to see us spend 5 million dollars on this guy I want to see us use him in a trade to get a real centre even if that guy costs more money because as well as he has produced the last 4 games whe can easily go on another long pointless streak

Wow. You can't make this stuff up.
 

Funk21

Registered User
Mar 6, 2013
4,344
1,864
Toronto
The NHL believes the cap will be 73 Million plus depending on where the CDN dollar ends up and plus revenues. With that said i think most of the figures thrown around here are pretty spot on. I say that Kadri will not make more than Bozak but it will mean a shorter term, say 4 years so that he can get a max deal the next time around. Bernier will be getting 5 million plus. Franson is going to take the team to the cleaners because of what the brass put him through the past two contract negotiations. He has certainly looked a lot better this year but I'm not sure I bite on a contract that big for somebody who has been so inconsistent defensively. Nobody doubts his offensive upside. It also helps he is a right handed shot. He will want 5 million plus and want term. I both really like what Santarelli and Winnek bring to the team, I can see Santorelli getting 3 because of his offensive upside.

The rest of the players are league mins or call ups(Panik i'd like to keep). I don't think we trade Lupul until Nylander/Brown or any other prospect is ready to step up. I'd like to trade Robidas but that is a pretty terrible contract, same with Clarkson- Untradeable.

After 2015-2016, I guess we hope the cap goes up to 80 million and that Stamkos signs here after we clear some cap space.
 

MapleLeaf4ever

Registered User
Feb 9, 2013
238
0
GTA
After the current projection release I've been doing some comparisons and here are the BS numbers I'm throwing out based on what people are reporting.

Roster Size: 22
Upper Limit $73 mil
Cap Payroll $71,173,333
Avg. Bonuses $2,045,000
Cap Space $1,826,667

///Left Wingers///Centres///Right Wingers///
///J.Lupul 5.25/// N.Kadri 4.25///P.Kessel 8.0///
///JVR 4.25///T.Bozak 4.2///R.Panik 1.0///
///L.Komorov 2.95///M.Santorelli 3.0///W.Nylander 0.925///
///D.Winnik 1.8///P.Holland 0.775///J.Levio 0.7925///
///-------------///S.Carrik 0.66///B.Kozun 0.605///

///Left Hand Shot Defencemen///Right Hand Shot Defencemen///
///D.Phanuef 7.0///C.Franson 5.0///
///J.Gardiner 4.05///R.Polak 2.75///
///M.Rielly 0.894167///S.Robidas 3.0///
///S.Percy 0.863333///------------////

///Goaltending///
///J.Bernier 4.5///

///Buyouts///
///M.Grabovski 0.0///
///T.Gleason 1.833333///

///Retained Salary///
///C.Gunnarson 0.2///
///D.Clarkson 2.625///

This leaves $1,826,667 available cap space to sign a back up goaltender. Notable Players on the Roster are Bernier, Franson, Kadri and Santorelli. All have warranted salary similar to what is listed (For Santorelli I am using Raymond as an approximation if his point totals maintain pace) with a +/- of $1 million depending on performance during the later 2/3 of the season. Winnik is likely to receive a $200k-$750k raise depending on how negotiations go.

A notable departure is David Clarkson. His value is likely to rise slightly by the end of the year if he can continue on a 20+ Goal pace. I personally believe that Lamorello and Deboer wouldn't mind taking him back especially if we retain the 50% max. of his salary. If Clarkson can't be moved then one of Gardiner or Lupul likely is moved to make room for the others and a Santorelli Signing is likely not possible. A negative impact this leaves is in combination with Gleason's buyout penalty and Gunnarsons Retained Salary, Leafs are penalized $4 mil through the 17-18 season and that doesn't come off the books completely until 19-20 (wasting a compliance buyout on Komisarek is looking even worse [regular buyout penalty at the time was 800k x 2yrs]). This problem can be negated by a rising cap or can compile if young players demand higher pays while the cap remains the same or shrinks.

Riemer also I believe will be moved out. Edmonton could use a new face to spark the team. A 2nd round pick or middling prospect is likely the return. Other teams that may have interest would be Minnesota, Philadelphia and Washington. He can then be replaced by either an AHL promotion or a Free Agent signing (Marty Brodeur? Ray Emery? V. Fasth?) or maybe a "Free Wallet" on the College market.

All said, the current projections bode well for the leafs in the short term. For at least the next year the team can remain relatively fully intact at key positions allow Nonnis/Carlyle possible successor(s) to shape the team as they see fit. I don't honestly believe Clarkson would be traded but a single phone call could change everything. Also unless contract talks begin with Franson soon I believe he will be gone by the Trade Deadline day.
 

Eye of Ra

Grandmaster General of the International boards
Nov 15, 2008
18,227
4,625
Malmö, Sweden
JVR - Kadri - Kessel
Lupul - Bozak - Nylander
Komarov - Santorelli - Johnson
Winnik - Holland - Panik

Phaneuf - Franson
Rielly - Polak
Holzer - Granberg

Niemi
Enroth
 

Tak7

Registered User
Nov 1, 2009
12,835
4,424
GTA or the UK
I think the only way the Leafs get Franson done at a reasonable number is if they act quickly and try and get it done now. But Franson would be absolutely insane to not test the market - similar to what Bozak did. First option was Toronto, deal was on the table, but checked out the market before he signed.

Santorelli and Winnik are much easier dilemmas. You have to be careful with bottom 6 guys. If they want too much, let them walk. No big deal. They might appear to be great additions to the team, but you never know with them - let's not forget how much love Jay McClement used to get on these boards for all the great things he used to do for the team. Things turned in a hurry here, and he was shown the door shortly there-after.

You can replace these guys.
 

Mindrust

Registered User
Feb 28, 2013
667
0
People always put Kadri in the must re sign camp but I just don't see it yes he has had a good stretch of production the last 4 games but that doesn't erase nearly 2 months of not producing.

I don't want to see us spend 5 million dollars on this guy I want to see us use him in a trade to get a real centre even if that guy costs more money because as well as he has produced the last 4 games whe can easily go on another long pointless streak

Are we watching the same games? Kadri has been an absolute monster. Don't let the points fool you.
 

johnny_rudeboy

Registered User
Mar 20, 2006
19,566
418
Karlstad
People always put Kadri in the must re sign camp but I just don't see it yes he has had a good stretch of production the last 4 games but that doesn't erase nearly 2 months of not producing.

I don't want to see us spend 5 million dollars on this guy I want to see us use him in a trade to get a real centre even if that guy costs more money because as well as he has produced the last 4 games whe can easily go on another long pointless streak

Real center? Kadri has stepped up his game a lot this season and found a consistency to his game by always brining a solid defensive game. Scoring will always be streaky but if the player always can come out to play and contribute in his own end they are worth to keep around. And just how much is Kadri worth? I guess just north of $5m for 5 years will please both the Leafs and the Kadri camp. I hope so anyway.

Kadri +
Vision and soft hands making him a good playmaker. Also has that ability playmakers have to draw the heat towards them self to open up ice for others who they can then pass the puck to.
Grit, he both takes and hands out hits.
Face offs, yeah I put that down as a + for him since he have steadily improved his FO numbers. Is close to 50% this season.
Shot, even do his S% is not great this season he do have a very nice and accurate shot.
Coachability, he seem to be the kind of character the coach can work with seeing as he seem to actually listen to his coaches, if he understands what they say all the time is a different matter but he at least seem to understand the coach > player relationship.

Kadri -
Skating, dont have that elusive free flowing skating thus makes him a little bit less effective. He seem to have improved his balance somewhat and does not fall over so much anymore. Not by any means a bad skater but it is not s strength either and something he could improve.
Consistency, something he have improved a lot this season but it will still be a - until he has played a full season.
Decision making. He still has some issues when it comes getting the puck down deep. Often tries to stick handle his way through the other teams defense. That is fine to do every now and then but he must become a little more unpredictable and find other ways as well. It is like once he does not see any other options to go forward quickly he goes back to the "I can do this all by my self by using my skill" and some times it works but most of the times it doesnt. Not a big problem but something he needs to improve and something that would make him a better playmaker once he does. A lot of the times it is perhaps the easy option with a pass back to a team mate that is the best one to keep possession and find another way around. But he is getting better in this area as well.

So overall I think Kadri is improving just fine and along with Bernier is the first 2 guys we need to resign. Just dont ask them any trivia questions.
 

thewave

Registered User
Jun 17, 2011
40,494
10,417
I think if we aren't in a PO position Santorelli will be traded. Worst thing about this is he won't be traded but jus as bad is he will be traded. On in Toronto can a good situation be both good and bad.

What a mess. Just to say, I prefer a team with Santorelli it's just looking long term if he is brilliant you could attract a 2nd and a prospect for a team needing to get ready for a deep run.
 

080

Registered User
Sep 14, 2009
4,920
89
Guelph
I went through this on CapGeek the other day out of curiousity.

If we move Gardiner and Reimer then we should be able to re-sign most of the team; depending on how much players ask for.

If Santorelli and Winnik are wanting huge raises and if Franson is wanting a massive raise (over 5.5) then we may need to move Polak as well. But I'm fine with moving him as Holzer has done a good job of taking his place.

If this team wants to move forward, I think it needs to look at revamping the top line. Even if we re-sign players like Santorelli and Kadri to larger contracts, our second and third lines will still be relatively cost-effective. Every player on those lines (Santorelli, Kadri, Holland, Komarov, and Lupul (sometimes Winnik) has been a solid 200-foot player while putting up points. The only player who is severely overpaid is Clarkson -- but every team has at least one guy who is not worth anywhere near his paycheque. But for the most part, our second, third and fourth lines have all been outstanding and have more-than-earned their pay.
 

080

Registered User
Sep 14, 2009
4,920
89
Guelph
Are we watching the same games? Kadri has been an absolute monster. Don't let the points fool you.

Not to mention he's actually on-pace for more points this year than he had last year.

Kadri completely changed the way he plays the game (fewer turnovers and high-risk plays, etc.) and he wasn't producing that much to start the season. But now he's shown he can be a solid 200-foot player and put up points. Why would we get rid of him?

Right now, I think his value to the team is higher than Kessel's.
 

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