One more pleasant predicament in the current NHL economic system is the “price” of victory and it is beginning to look like the Toronto Maple Leafs will face that this off season.
This recent upswing in the Leafs’ on ice fortunes could mean a playoff position for long suffering Leafs fans this Spring, but it could also create an additional headache or two for Brendan Shanahan and Dave Nonis.
More NHL on Sportsnet:
Subscribe: Rogers GameCentre Live
Rogers Hometown Hockey | Broadcast Schedule
Sportsnet Fantasy Hockey Pool
The Leafs are currently pretty tight against the $69.0 million dollar salary cap. It had been predicted that there will be another sizable bump upwards for next season as there was this past offseason (up from $64.3 million last season, a $4.7 million increase). Those projections are being modified in light of the common NHL economic dilemma, the falling Canadian dollar. The Canadian dollar stood at $1.07 in the summer of 2011 when the NHL hockey returned to Winnipeg, it now hovers around the .88 cent mark. It will definitely have some impact on the ultimate salary cap figure for next year, it is still unclear exactly what amount.
Unlike last season when the Leafs faced the prospect of arguably their two best players becoming free agents (Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf, who both signed new long-term deals), the situation this season isn’t quite so dire.
The top two priorities have been viewed as Jonathan Bernier and Nazem Kadri, both have a $2.9 million collar cap hit for this current season. Both, of course, are looking upwards. Kadri had been asking in the range of $5 million in contract talks in 2013 before he signed his current two-year bridge type deal. The Leafs will counter that he can’t be paid more than Tyler Bozak who is currently on the second year of a five-year contract with a $4.2 million cap hit.
One would think that Bernier would also be looking to get close to the $5 million dollar range. With little or no change in the salary cap amount, this alone will be a significant challenge for the Leafs.
Now enter one Cody Franson. Year to year he has almost been the forgotten man in contract negotiations, the player “we will get around to”. The Rodney Dangerfield “I don’t get no respect” in the Leafs’ long term plans.
Franson arrived via trade from Nashville in the summer of 2011 and then head coach Ron Wilson promptly tarnished his reputation and abilities by making him a healthy scratch in the season opener.
Wilson’s penchant to complain more about who he had on his roster rather than actually trying to improve his younger players saw Franson as a prime example. On the ice he has endured the perception of being “OK for now, but we can do better”. Off ice he has had restricted free agent status and has had to fight for one-year contracts with less leverage than an unrestricted free agent would have. He saw his NHL salary bump from $800,000 when he arrived, to $1.2 million in 2012-13, to $2.0 million in 2013-2014 (when he had to sit out all of training camp while negotiating) and to $3.3 million for the current season.
At the age of 27, Franson is now playing his best NHL hockey as he looks forward to being an unrestricted free agent for the first time this summer. He has found a place as part of the Leafs go to shutdown defensive pair along with Dion Phaneuf. Offensively, his career high in goals is 8 and his best points total is 33. He already has 4 goals and 17 points in just 22 games this season and he retains a tidy plus/minus rating of plus-7.
Franson’s current career highs will soon be a distant memory. The guy they have always eventually “got around to”, will need to be treated in a much different fashion if he is to continue in the blue and white. Quality NHL defenceman are always the most sought after (and scarce) commodity when free agency hits on July 1st. Franson might find himself in a better negotiating position than both Bernier and Kadri with regards to commanding a long term deal of $5 million per season or more.
With no significant contracts coming off the books after this season, Shanahan and Nonis are going to be hard pressed to sign two of Bernier, Kadri and Franson… never mind all three.
Does that ultimately force a trade (Kadri?) or a reluctant buyout (the huge David Clarkson contract?). The price of success! Leaf fans, for now, will prefer to see the “success” continue.
