Report Raises Big Doubts About Maple Leafs' Top Three Free Agent Targets
Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
A new report from NHL Insider Chris Johnston updated fans regarding the status of a trio of free agents, and for the Maple Leafs, they may be out of luck.
With the Maple Leafs already making a flurry of move this offseason, including acquiring Mattias Maccelli from the Utah Mammoth, and making a blockbuster sign and trade with Vegas involving Mitch Marner; which saw Nicolas Roy come back to Toronto.
The team certainly isn't done yet, and with free agency set to be a firestorm of signings, trades, and deals they have to make sure they make the right choices, and might need to go the cheaper route in order to fill out some holes.
Toronto might be hard pressed to sign trio of free agents: Chris Johnston
However, a new report from Chris Johnston reveals that if the Maple Leafs were looking at Brandon Tanev, Tanner Jeannot or Mikael Granlund this summer; they might be out of luck.
According to Johnston, the overall sentiment around the players is that Toronto is kicking the tires but not trying to jump into the driver's seat just yet.
Should Toronto pursue these three anyways?
In the case of Granlund, he's going to have a ton of suitors after a successful year split between San Jose and Dallas, and if there's as many as 12 teams looking at him, with more cap than Toronto; it's going to be really tough to sway him.
Granlund, 33, had 66 points in 83 games (22G, 44A) and is one of the more savvy defensive forwards in the league. He brings a lot of discipline and veteran experience, and has 44 points in 72 games in the postseason.
Tanev, 33, is the younger brother of Maple Leafs defender Chris Tanev and would give a solid bottom-six presence for the team, even if his offense isn't something to really pay a lot of attention to.
Much like his brother, he's reckless on the ice when it comes to blocking shots, and he's certainly not afraid to lay in a few hits here and there. He had 22 points in 79 games with 105 blocks and 168 hits; a Craig Berube type if there ever was one.
Finally, Jeannot would be more utilized in a Ryan Reaves-type role but with a much higher offensive ceiling and he actually has a skillset to make an impact. He'll be nothing more than a fourth-liner, but with Steven Lorentz and Scott Laughton down the middle; that's a gritty and nasty trio.
Jeannot, 28, had 13 points in 67 games with the LA Kings, but is more than capable of scoring, having a 24-goal campaign with the Predators in 2021-22, and he had a 40-goal season in Junior hockey as well.
This is certainly something to keep an eye on, and while there might not be anything concrete with Toronto and these names; this is NHL Free Agency.
Anything can happen.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 1 | 811 ANSWERS Report Raises Big Doubts About Maple Leafs' Top Three Free Agent Targets Who would you want Toronto to sign this free agency? | ||
| Mikael Granlund | 156 | 19.2 % |
| Brandon Tanev | 308 | 38 % |
| Tanner Jeannot | 105 | 12.9 % |
| Other | 242 | 29.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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