The Toronto Maple Leafs will be one of the many teams that show interest in Connor McDavid when the superstar becomes available at the Edmonton Oilers. Still not signed and entering the last season of his current NHL contract, everyone waits for an McDavid decision. However, a big news from Minnesota can have complicated things.
The faith is still that McDavid will draw in Edmonton. But if he doesn’t, teams will stand in line to make their pitch for the best player in the NHL. In the meantime, a good player, who is demonstrably at least one level lower than McDavid (and also a winger), Kirill Kaprizov, a record extension with the Minnesota Wild for $ 17 million per season.
On the surface it would be thought that this means that more is needed to leave McDavid the oilers. It also means that Toronto may have to spend more to attract McDavid to the Maple Leafs.
What should a team like Toronto McDavid pay?
Although the situation of McDavid is unique – because he, well, he is McDavid – every deal outside of Edmonton would demonstrably see the captain of the oilers who would use Kaprizov’s contract as a benchmark to gauge his own value. If he stays with the oils, it will be less about money and more about winning and building a fighting team around him. If he leaves, those things will still matter, but probably not so much.
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For Toronto this means that at least $ 17 to $ 20 million can be spent on McDavid as a free agent. They will try to make two throws: that they are a legitimate Stanley Cup and that they can offer so much or more than another competition (and there are many).
Can the Maple Leafs work that?
Toronto is not in a bad caps situation, but no less than $ 20 million will be tight. Currently, the Leafs have $ 20,320,951 in CAP space to spend next season. That is, assuming that the Leafs does not sign Matias Maccelli, Nick Robertson, Calle Jarnkrok, Scott Laughton or Bobby McMann.
It would be logical to assume that GM Brad Treliving will be satisfied to all leave if it means that it will be McDavid, but that leaves nothing left in the cap, assuming that McDavid is looking at more money to leave the only teams he has ever known.
The question for McDavid will be, are the Leafs as good as the oilers, or good enough as built to win? Taking into account that he makes every team exponentially better, that is a difficult question to answer. From the play -off history of the Maple Leafs there is nothing to suggest that this is a team that is just as closer or closer than the oilers. It will be what the team is doing this season that will help McDavid convince, assuming he can be convinced.
Only rental this season for the Maple Leafs
Another thing to consider is how the Maple Leafs would approach the Trade Deadline, if the prospect of trading McDavid in the summer becomes reality. Treliving cannot afford to add a contract that will encounter next season. Eliminating one of his cap -space would be disastrous against the end goal of having the money needed to attract McDavid in July.
Does that influence what the team can follow during the season?
All this is a long-shot hypothetical based on different What-IF scenarios. It is really known that he tells what McDavid will prioritize and where his head is. As far as everyone knows, this Kaprizov -deal does not even register for him, without influence on how he approaches his negotiations with the oilers or thinks about his future.
That said, if Kaprizov is suddenly the best-paid player in the NHL, McDavid warns of the reality of what he should be “worth”, it just became more complicated for different NHL teams, including the Maple Leafs.
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