Maple Leafs Have a Golden Opportunity to Land One of the NHL's Elite Scorers
Photo credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
According to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin is wanting to get paid, and Toronto is in the perfect chance to do so next year.
It's no secret, the Toronto Maple Leafs are missing the presence of Mitch Marner. Whether it be due to his offensive prowess, elite defensive nature or the fact that without him, Auston Matthews looks lifeless.
Whatever the situation, the team needs to bring in someone who can really impact the top-six and give them that Marner type player. Their success by committee hasn't worked as well as they had hoped, and the team is looking for answers.
Artemi Panarin's Contract Demands May Lead Him Elsewhere
According to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, they may have found theirs in the Big Apple.
Speaking on a recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman explained that New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin is looking to get a huge pay raise this summer, which is bad news for the Rangers but great news for others:
Panarin is going to go for the biggest deal he can get.
While he wasn't specific, Friedman noting that Panarin wants his big means any team is going to fork out a lot for an aging veteran.
The 34-year-old Panarin signed a mega-deal in 2019 with the Rangers for a staggering $11.64-million per season. While he's been outstanding with the team in the regular season, his playoff acumen hasn't been great.
With the Rangers already tied up with a bunch of money in J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad, and Vincent Trocheck, it's going to be hard to find the cap space for Panarin, especially if he wants a raise over his near $12-million deal.
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But what if the Maple Leafs were to swoop in and take over? The team only has a couple deals in Scott Laughton and Bobby McMann to worry about, but they aren't breaking the bank.
They have a projected $19-million open in cap space, and while the team does need to worry about the aforementioned free agents as well as Matias Maccelli, if they can open up space earlier on; it might work out even better.
If Panarin wants a five-year deal worth $13.5-million, that would give Toronto at minimum $5.5-million to work with, and if they can get rid of David Kampf and Nick Robertson, that's another $4-million to play with.
For all the talk about changing the identity, bringing in a player of Panarin's caliber would certainly do so, though there is always a potential for backlash given his reputation.
But for a team needing to win, and needing to bring in someone who can truly shake up the lineup, going after Artemi Panarin and offering him a big pay day could be just the boost Toronto needs to get past their playoff issues.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 2 | 1557 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Have a Golden Opportunity to Land One of the NHL's Elite Scorers Should Toronto try and pursue Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers? | ||
| Yes | 744 | 47.8 % |
| No | 813 | 52.2 % |
| List of polls | ||