In the wake of Sunday’s blockbuster trades, one cannot help but wonder what’s next for the Toronto Maple Leafs? Who’s next to go? Who stays?
In any case, I think that it’s pretty safe to say that this season is a write-off. We’re not making any moves to make a run at the playoffs this season. So, let’s look forward and take a look at what the Maple Leafs should look like next season.
According to CapGeek’s 2010-11 Cap Calculator, the Maple Leafs are committed to 14 players and $47.6125M in payroll. Now, bonuses are included in that number, leaving 9 roster spots and $13.4475M in cap space.
Now, let’s assume that Nikolai Kulemin, Christian Hanson & Jonas Gustavsson re-sign for modest raises, either before the end of the season or in the summer.
Let’s also assume that Viktor Stalberg & Nazem Kadri will be up with the big club next season. Under these assumptions, here’s what the Leafs will have committed for the 2010-11 season:
| ————————————————————————————————————————————– |
||
| PLAYER | BONUS | CAP HIT |
|---|---|---|
| FORWARDS | ||
| Phil Kessel | ” | $5,400,000 |
| Tyler Bozak | ($2,850,000) | $3,725,000 |
| Mikhail Grabovski | ” | $2,900,000 |
| * Nikolai Kulemin | ” | $2,000,000 |
| Nazem Kadri | ($850,000) | $1,750,000 |
| * Christian Hanson | ” | $1,250,000 |
| Colton Orr | ” | $1,000,000 |
| Viktor Stalberg | ($65,000) | $850,000 |
| Fredrik Sjostrom | ” | $750,000 |
| Jay Rosehill | ” | $512,500 |
| DEFENSEMEN | ||
| Dion Phaneuf | ” | $6,500,000 |
| Mike Komisarek | ” | $4,500,000 |
| Tomas Kaberle | ” | $4,250,000 |
| Francois Beauchemin | ” | $3,800,000 |
| Jeff Finger | ” | $3,500,000 |
| Luke Schenn | ($2,100,000) | $2,975,000 |
| Carl Gunnarsson | ($170,000) | $800,000 |
| GOALTENDERS | ||
| Jean-Sebastien Giguere | ” | $6,000,000 |
| * Jonas Gustavsson | ” | $3,000,000 |
| BUYOUTS | ||
| Darcy Tucker | ” | $1,000,000 |
| ROSTER SIZE | 19 | |
| SALARY CAP | $56,800,000 | |
| PAYROLL | $56,462,500 | |
| BONUSES | $6,035,000 | |
| CAP SPACE | $4,597,500 | |
| ————————————————————————————————————————————- | ||
That leaves 4 spots open with about $4.5M in cap space.
Here are some projected lines (minus the 4 open roster spots):
FORWARDS
Kulemin-Grabovski-Kessel
Stalberg-Bozak-Hanson
Sjostrom-Kadri-_____
Rosehill-_____-Orr
_____ _____
DEFENCEMEN
Kaberle-Phaneuf
Beauchemin-Komisarek
Gunnarsson-Schenn
Finger
GOALTENDERS
Giguere
Gustavsson
————————————————————————————————————————————–
There are still so many moves on the horizon. How would you fill out this roster?
- Would you move Tomas Kaberle for some much needed help up front and/or a first-round pick?
- Would you re-sign or trade Alexei Ponikarovsky?
- Would you bury Jeff Finger in the minors to open up some cap space?
- Would you bring back John Mitchell for a cheap number?
- Would you assume that Lee Stempniak, Wayne Primeau & Rickard Wallin are as good as gone?
If you were Brian Burke, what would you do?
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