The Toronto Maple Leafs eyeing college free agents, and John Gibson trade talks will return in the offseason
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: The Toronto Maple Leafs signed NCAA free agent defenseman John Prokop. With a thinning prospect pool and trading two first-round picks at the deadline, they’ll be looking for more, including a centerman.
Michigan State’s Karsen Dorwart is getting attention. He almost signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs last offseason before deciding to return to school. People think the Philadelphia Flyers will be one of the teams interested.
The Anaheim Ducks will continue to work on John Gibson trade. There was some frustration from all sides that a deal couldn’t be found before the trade deadline.
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Carolina Hurricanes GM on the Mikko Rantanen situation and being aggressive this offseason
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: The Carolina Hurricanes offered Mikko Rantanen eight years at $12.5 million per “with the stated willingness to negotiate up from that.” There were no meaningful contract talks.
On deadline day it looked like the deal between the Hurricanes and Dallas Stars was off at one as the Stars couldn’t get an extension done with Rantanen. Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky when asked what it was like talking to Stars GM Jim Nill at that point while keeping other options open if they had to move on to another team.
“The conversation was less with (Nill) and more with other people about what else we might do if we didn’t get a deal done (with Dallas),” Tulsky said. “Ultimately, we didn’t see another player out there who we wanted as much as Logan. So that was the deal we focused on.”
The other serious bidders for Rantanen were the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, with lesser interest from the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Utah Hockey Club, the Calgary Flames, and the Anaheim Ducks. The Hurricanes were looking for some pieces that would help them this season and not just all futures-based.
“There were some offers on the table that were all futures,” Tulsky confirmed. “There were some offers on the table that had current players that we didn’t feel would help us as much as Logan would. And ultimately, if the value wasn’t there, we were just going to take our run with Mikko.”
Tulsky when asked about their salary cap space and if they’ll be aggressive this offseason.
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“Yeah, my first two offseasons as a GM are going to be very different,” Tulsky said. “The first year trying to keep everyone would have put us $20 million over the cap. And this year, we can probably keep everyone and be $20 million under the cap. So it’s a very different situation to be in. It gives us a different opportunity to try and take a step forward this summer.”
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