And the end result is....
Hurricanes have agreed to terms with free-agent defenseman Calvin de Haan, per source. Four years, $18.2 million. Left-shot D completes top two pairings.
— Luke DeCock (@LukeDeCock) July 4, 2018
I’m not sure if signing Calvin de Haan on top of John Tavares will make Kyle Dubas a Jedi, but it might come close.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have recently expressed serious interest in D Calvin de Haan. The Islanders also still very interested. A few more teams remain in the mix. Offers in the table, and he’s turned down one long-term offer from a team. Talks very much ongoing.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) July 1, 2018
So, I’m not vouching for the Fourth Period or David Pagnotta. I don’t know if he’s reliable. But this fits with Kyle Dubas’s comments today about veterans taking shorter deals for the joy of being a Maple Leaf.
.@MapleLeafs General Manager @KyleDubas addresses the media after the free agent signing of @91Tavares. #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/3wr8rLSmSa
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 1, 2018
It was a bit of an odd comment because we haven’t seen that happen.If anything, Patrick Marleau and Ron Hainsey got more term than was ideal.
So was Dubas talking about a deal yet to be made?
There’s some cap space left, particularly this season, and particularly if Matt Martin is traded now rather than later.
DeHaan is 27, coming off a deal that paid him a career-high $3.3 million in a season shortened by injury. That’s never a situation that makes your team happy with you.
If he is the man who will take short term, the Leafs will suddenly have a second pairing defender, albeit a lefty, who is a notch above Ron Hainsey. Who is also a lefty, so there’s precedent for ignoring the handedness when trying to get better.
It could happen! It might not, but are the Leafs done? I’ll discuss that in more depth tomorrow morning.