WHO WILL THE MAPLE LEAFS SIGN?

by Mike Jack, Mike Jack's Hockey Articles

General Manager, Cliff Fletcher has accumulated quite the pile of money by relinquishing the likes of Darcy Tucker, Andrew Raycroft, Hal Gill, Chad Kilger, Kyle Wellwood and Wade Belak. Captain, Mats Sundin, Dominic Moore and John Pohl are unrestricted free agent that may not sign back with the team. The only restricted free agent from the Leafs is Matt Stajan. He’s been given a qualifying offer by the Leafs which will apparently go to arbitration if he doesn’t sign an offer sheet with another team. I think Stajan is too much of a Leafs fan to sign with another team though.

With the NHL free agent signing period just three days away (July 1^st), it could be a wild free agent season for the rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs. If the Leafs choose not to go for their own unrestricted free agents, they’ll have about $18 million in cap space available to sign younger unrestricted free agents with their only real roster needs being three forwards and a back-up goalie.

So, with $18 million to spend, here are the top five players the Leafs should offer a contract to on July 1^st:

5. Jeff Finger, Defenseman

The Leafs may need a defensive defenseman on their second defensive pairing. Hal Gill was suppose to be that guy last year, but a younger defensive player like Finger or Brooks Orpik will do them one better. They’ll definitely need another defenseman if they decide to trade Pavel Kubina this summer.

4. Wade Dubielewicz, Goaltender

With the buying out of Andrew Raycroft and farmhand, Scott Clemmenson becoming an unrestricted free agent, the Leafs need a back-up for Vesa Toskala. Some may say they should give Justin Pogge a shot, but Justin Pogge definitely needs to learn how to be a consistent AHL goalie before he sees any time in the NHL. Pogge was Clemmenson’s back-up for most of the Marlies play-off run. Unlike Raycroft, Dubielewicz know his role as a back-up. He prepares himself as such by training himself to be ready to save his team when his starter goes down. When Toskala was hurt last season and the Leafs needed Raycroft to step up, they went on a huge losing streak. Dubie may not have had a lot of wins last season, buy his .919 save percentage speaks for itself. Other younger back-ups the Leafs may go for should include Alex Auld and Curtis Sanford. Any of these goalies could be signed for less than half of what Raycroft was making.

3. Patrick Rissmiller, Winger

Rissmiller is a tough third line player that has played under coach, Ron Wilson. He along with newly acquired Jamal Mayers could help fill the gap in grit left by the absence of Tucker, Kilger and Belak. If they don’t get Rissmiller, then maybe they could go for Matt Cooke.

2. Kristian Huselius, Winger

During this free agent season, the major thing the Leafs need is a super-star forward in their 20’s - maybe even two or three if they decide to trade Jason Blake. Huselius may not be a super-star yet, but he is the second best younger unrestricted forward available. He had 25 goal and 66 points 2007-08, and 34 goals and 77 points in 2008-09. If he were on the Leafs, he’d probably see a lot of time on their top line. Other younger forwards that the Leafs may go for are Radim Vrbata, Ryan Malone, Niklas Hagman, Jason Williams, Josef Vasicek, Antti Miettinen and Pascal Dupuis.

1. Marian Hossa, Winger

Hossa is the younger super-star the Leafs need to get if they don’t sign Sundin. Though Hossa had one of his worst regular seasons last year, he proved he can perform in the play-offs by finishing third in play-off scoring. Hossa has the potential to score 100 points this season and he’s remained healthy virtually his entire career. Hossa is also eight years younger than Sundin. Sundin is apparently looking for $7 million next season, and Hossa is looking for slightly more. What kind of drama would this add to the battle of Ontario? Hossa was once a star on the Ottawa Senators before getting traded in the Dany Heatley deal.