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The Toronto Maple Leafs have 11 pending UFAs, but not all of them will be returning. It is unlikely that Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Ilya Samsonov, and Martin Jones will be on the roster next season, while Matt Murray, Jake Muzzin, and John Klingberg all spent the season on long-term injured reserve.
Muzzin is expected to retire, but when healthy, Klingberg could return on a very cheap contract, and the same goes for Murray; he will attempt to earn an NHL contract or even a professional tryout (PTO). This leaves two UFA defencemen: Joel Edmondson and Ilya Lyubushkin. Here’s why the team should re-sign them.
Joel Edmundson
Joel Edmundson was acquired from the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline. It took him a while to get acclimated to his new team, but after he did, he became a standout on the backend. With general manager Brad Treliving at the helm, fans should expect to see a lot more defencemen like him going forward.
Treliving likes to have big, rugged blueliners playing alongside puck movers, and Edmundson fits that role perfectly. At this point in his career, he is a bottom-pairing defenceman who can mentor younger players like Cade Webber, which is what teams need. Veterans are essential to winning Cups; however, in the past, the Maple Leafs have brought in veterans who are too old and slow to compete on a nightly basis. In Edmundson’s case, he still has another year or two in him before he reaches that point.
The Maple Leafs will likely move on from Brodie, and Edmundson could easily take his place as the defensive defenceman who kills penalties and logs big minutes. With a few more years at this pace left in him, the organization needs to take advantage of that. Treliving should offer Edmundson a two-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $2.5 million – $3 million.
Ilya Lyubushkin
The Maple Leafs also need to bring back Ilya Lyubushkin . Depending on what the brass has planned for their top stars this offseason, they might only re-sign one of Lyubushkin or Edmundson. Nevertheless, he should be an option because he is the perfect partner for Morgan Rielly. He is a simple defenceman; he breaks up the forecheck and cycle, clears the front of his net, and typically stays back to allow his partner to make the offensive rushes. This style of blueliner has worked so well with Rielly in the past that the team should do all they can to bring him back on a cheap deal.
Lyubushkin is on his second tour of duty with the Maple Leafs, and he has found comfort and success both times. It would be smart for the organization to re-sign him before he hits the open market. He is coming off a contract worth $2.75 million over two seasons; the expectation is that Treliving will offer him a bit less than that on a two-year deal for a chance to win the Stanley Cup with the team.
Treliving would be smart to offer Lyubushkin an AAV in the neighbourhood of $1.5 million – $1.75 million over the next two seasons. This is a low enough cap hit that the team can afford him, although it might be considered below market value. Lyubushkin tested the open market once and signed elsewhere before eventually returning to the Maple Leafs. Treliving should make sure that he doesn’t test the market again, especially since they need more right-handed defencemen.
If the Maple Leafs make changes this offseason and trade a star or two, they will likely be uber-aggressive in the free-agent market looking for big-name defencemen. Regardless, they should bring back one or both of Edmundson and Lyubushkin.
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