Assistant general manager Kyle Dubas was rather candid when he admitted that Kadri’s new one-year deal at $4.1 million opens the door to a larger, more expensive contract if the young centreman exceeds expectations next season.
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The Maple Leafs now have around $8.5 million in cap space with no RFAs remaining and thirteen forwards, eight defencemen and two goaltenders on the roster. Are the Leafs managing their young assets in right manner?
The Maple Leafs have re-signed starting goaltender Jonathan Bernier to a two-year contract, the team announced Sunday.
Over two seasons playing for the Leafs, Bernier has collected a record of 47-47-14 in 113 games.
There was risk in allowing the arbitrator to decide this case because it was guaranteed to be a one-year deal.
The Leafs are expected to go into their third straight season with Bernier and James Reimer as their goaltending tandem.
The Maple Leafs and Bernier were able to come to a contract settlement prior to an arbitration ruling.
Bernier can be a UFA at the end of this deal. 916 save percentage.
First off, Bernier is coming off a pretty poor season, only his second as a full-time starter in the National Hockey League. A pair of rebound seasons from Bernier could lead to the same situation. That’s on par with Marc Andre Fleury, and ahead of Pekka Rinne, Jaroslav Halak, and Jonathan Quick.
“I was happy we were able to get a deal done…” They get two seasons to find out if Bernier is the guy they saw in 2013-14 or the guy they had in 2014-15. It should be a fun year.
The Leafs went on a free fall and missed the playoffs, setting off a series of events including the hiring of Brendan Shanahan as team president, the launching of a full-scale rebuild and the firings of coach Randy Carlyle and GM Dave Nonis.
We need to turn the page.
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The team and the 26 year old Quebec native were miles apart when the arbitration process began, spending almost five hours in the room discussing and negotiating what the new deal should look like. He doesn’t have to prove anything.
