Maple Leafs UFAs

We all know that some tough decisions are coming for the Toronto Maple Leafs after this season. They have 3 keys players coming up to the end of their contracts. Bozak, Komarov and JVR who have all played for the leafs for a number of years are in their final years.

JVR is a very skilled winger who posted 29 goals and 62 points while playing all 82 games last year. James is currently making 4.5 mil per season.

Komarov is a gritty forward who posted 14 goals and 32 points in 82 games last year. He is currently making 2.9 mil per season.

Bozak is a talented face-off man who posted 18 goals and 55 points in 78 games last year. He is making 4.2 mill this year.

My opinion is that there is no way to bring back all 3 of them, and with the winger depth the leafs have there is no reason to bring them back. I don't see anyone who can immediately step into JVRs spot and put up 30 goals. Yes Kapanen, Soshnikov, Johnsson, and Bracco are all talented wingers but they are a few years away from being at the same level as JVR. On the other hand Komarov can be easily replaced with any one of those young forwards. They may not bring the grit and physical presence that Komarov plays with. But with Komarov aging, how much longer can he play the physical game we expect from him. By letting Komarov walk away at the end of the season it opens up a spot for a young forward to move up. Maybe a Leivo?

The only one of the three UFAs that makes sense for the leafs to resign is Bozak in my opinion. The leafs are not very deep up the middle. I read a lot of comments about moving Nylander down to be the second line center. But who wants to tear one of the best lines in hockey apart? I believe if you can keep Nylander and Matthews together that is the best possible situation. By doing that you have Kadri as your second line center and i can't think of any reason why that is not a good thing. Then you can resign Bozak for the third line and depending on how long you sign him you can move him down to the forth line in a couple of years once Moore and Fehr are gone. By then Aaltonen or Gauthier should be knocking on the door to be placed in as the third or fourth line centers.
By only signing Bozak you open 2 forward spots for prospects sitting in the minors while freeing up cap room and keeping the center of the lineup in solid shape.

This being only year 2 of the Shanaplan, and the leafs putting up numbers like they are, i cannot see management making any trades during the season. They want to stay the course and see what they can do with the talent they already have. The only way anyone gets traded is if the team takes a nosedive and is out of contention. Otherwise you keep all 3 until the end of the season and use them for the playoff push then sort things out in the summer. Whatever happens the leafs are on the rise and this journey is fun to be on.