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NHL Scribe Details Clever Way to Fit Pietrangelo’s Deal In for Maple Leafs

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are, in fact, looking at Alex Pietrangelo in free agency, how does the money work? One scribes walks us through it.

By now, most everyone has heard the rumors that involve Alex Pietrangelo potentially testing NHL free agency and becoming the biggest ticket on the market. Most have also heard the talk that Pietrangelo would be a fantastic fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs who badly need a top-two defenseman.

Outside of knowing whether or not Pietrangelo is even interested in joining the Maple Leafs, the question has remained, ‘How on earth would the Maple Leafs make it work?’ It’s a fair question considering the Leafs are pretty much capped out heading into a season where a flat cap will wreak more havoc that it ever has in recent memory.

But, James Mirtle of The Athletic (subscription required) says there’s a way. In fact, not only has he claimed it possible, he’s walked through an exact scenario of what the Maple Leafs might do if they are seriously considering this.

Alex Pietrangelo St. Louis Blues
Alex Pietrangelo St. Louis Blues

Mirtle Set Up Some Preliminary Rules

First, Mirtle set up a few rules. Among them were that the Leafs couldn’t trade their big four. That meant John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and William Nylander were all staying put.

This is an interesting rule right out of the gate because the most common idea the casual fan throws out there is that the Leafs should just trade Nylander. But, as Mirtle points out, the Leafs have dangled the winger and the returns are not good. Plus, there’s that whole promise GM Kyle Dubas made that he wouldn’t trade him.

Another rule was that no blueliner with a significant salary could be moved. It didn’t make sense to take away important pieces from the blue line when the entire idea of this exercise was to add to an area of weakness. As such, Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin weren’t going anywhere.

How Mirtle Made the Money Work

So, with those rules in place, and banking that Pietrangelo was likely going to get around $8.5 million in free agency, how did Mirtle suggest Dubas could go about clearing enough space to sign the highly-coveted defenseman?

First, he started by filling in some of Toronto’s depth gaps with low-salary players the Leafs are likely to bring back. Among the names he mentioned were Ilya Mikheyev and Travis Dermott.

Second, he moved Frederik Andersen, Andreas Johnsson and Pierre Engvall out. This is not a terribly surprising move since all three names are already out there in trade rumors and the Leafs may realistically ship all three out over the next couple of weeks.

Finally, he replaced Frederik Gauthier with Jason Spezza, (a cap wash, but added more skill on the fourth line.)

His lineup looked like the one below:

What Are the Problems With His Lineup?

There are a couple things worth noting here.

One, the lineup is heavily weighted to paying only a few players most of the team’s salary. This is something the Maple Leafs were already doing so it’s not unrealistic. That said, it does open the team up to injury issues.

Two, entry-level players would really need to step up and produce for the Leafs to have a well-rounded lineup.

Three, if this didn’t work, the Leafs would be forced to move one of their big four next offseason. Dubas has been reluctant to do so.

What do you think? Is this a feasible option for the Leafs or think this is something Dubas is contemplating? We’re assuming, of course, that Pietrangelo decides to leave St. Louis. And, that’s a big assumption seeing as the trade that move Jake Allen this week suggests the Blues are clearing space.

Next: Are the Montreal Canadiens Looking at Taylor Hall?

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. C bone

    September 6, 2020 at 2:34 pm

    Why does every jag off from Toronto think every free agent wants to come play for them? The Leafs have atrocious D and subpar goaltending and will not be winning any cups anytime soon. Also, it’s clear Armstrong is clearing cap space bc he knows exactly what it will take to keep Petro and we will keep Petro. Petro wants to be somewhere where he can win a cup. Doubt he wants to go play for the perennial first round losers in Toronto

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