The first Leaf signing of the off-season was so much fun. Everything about it was a delight--the unleaked surprise of the announcement, the total silence from the Toronto press as they scrambled for a very long time to get the details, and then with a nod to tradition, Bob McKenzie announced it first.
BREAKING NEWS: The Leafs have signed Morgan Rielly and Nazem Kadri to new six-year contracts. #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/vtilBqUqWF
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) 13 April 2016
Kadri's AAV is $4.5M and Rielly's is $5M. Both 6 year deals.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) 13 April 2016
But somewhere in the Rules of Acquisition, there has to be one about buying in bulk. Leafs! Don't stop at two! Get more guys under contract, because as much fun as trades are, straight up acquisition is fun too.
So who's next? Who is the next guy the Leafs will sign? Here's some potential names:
| Name | Position | Age | Status | Waiver Exempt | Arbitration Eligible |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Holland | C | 25 | RFA | no | yes |
| Sam Carrick | C | 24 | RFA | no | yes |
| Martin Marincin | D | 24 | RFA | no | yes |
| Frank Corrado | D | 23 | RFA | no | yes |
| Garret Sparks | G | 22 | RFA | yes | |
| Stuart Percy | D | 22 | RFA | yes | |
| Josh Leivo | LW | 22 | RFA | yes | |
| Connor Carrick | D | 22 | RFA | yes | |
| Colin Smith | C | 22 | RFA | yes | |
| Scott Harrington | D | 23 | RFA | yes | |
| Michael Grabner | RW | 28 | UFA | ||
| P.-A. Parenteau | RW | 33 | UFA | ||
| Brad Boyes | RW | 33 | UFA | ||
| T.J. Brennan | D | 27 | UFA | ||
| Ben Smith | RW | 27 | UFA | ||
| Mark Arcobello | C | 27 | UFA | ||
| Rich Clune | LW | 28 | UFA | ||
| JJ Piccinich | F | 19 | unsigned | yes | |
| Stephen Desrocher | D | 20 | unsigned | yes | |
| Jeremy Bracco | RW | 20 | unsigned | yes | |
| Martins Dzierkals | RW | 19 | unsigned | yes | |
| Tony Cameranesi | C | 22 | unsigned | yes | |
| Nikita Korostelev | RW | 19 | unsigned | yes | |
| Dominic Toninato | C | 22 | unsigned | yes | |
| Dakota Joshua | C | 19 | unsigned | yes | |
| Nolan Vesey | LW | 21 | unsigned | yes | |
| Pierre Engvall | LW | 19 | unsigned | yes | |
| Fabrice Herzog | LW | 21 | unsigned | yes |
Information is from Elite Prospects, General Fanager and Cap Friendly
For RFAs, qualifying offers have to be submitted by June 28, but they can be signed at any moment before then, or after. Cap Friendly explains what a qualifying offer is, and you can check their page out for more details.
Teams must extend a qualifying offer to a restricted free agent to retain negotiation rights.
- If the player rejects the qualifying offer, they remain an RFA and their rights are retained by the team.
- If a player does not receive a qualifying offer, the player becomes a UFA.
For UFAs, signings can't happen until July 1. For those guys who are European professionals, like oh, say, Nikita Zaitsev, they can be signed when their contract runs out--his is May 1--or when they are allowed to trigger an out clause.
So who is next? Pick who the next Leaf is to be signed. And feel free to pick someone else in the comments, argue about salary, concoct offer sheet scenarios, whatever.
Acquisition is fun. That's definitely in the rules somewhere too.
Who will be the next player signed by the Leafs?
| Peter Holland | 414 |
| Garret Sparks | 226 |
| Nikita Zaitsev | 2835 |
| Jeremy Bracco | 288 |
| 2016 First Round Pick | 560 |
