Dave Nonis and the Toronto Maple Leafs Have Mishandled Cap Space

Dave Nonis and the Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in an interesting predicament. With just over a week till training camp there remains two key players who have not been re-signed- Nazem Kadri and Cody Franson. Arguably the Leafs best defenceman and most promising prospect remain un-signed as the Leafs try and find a way to keep both on the roster under the cap.

It's hard to feel sorry for the Maple Leafs who have poorly mismanaged their cap space this offseason. They currently have just under $4.9 million left in cap spca, but they've spent and waisted a lot of money this offseason. It all started with Tyler Bozak who was demanding first line money despite not being worth first line money. The Leafs knew they would have to give Bozak a decent pay day and were determined not to over pay for him, but they ended up handing him a 5 year $21 million deal.

Next we move to David Clarkson. I'm still not entirely sure why the Leafs needed a player like Clarkson, but he can be a valuable comodity and the Leafs decided they wanted that comodity. Problem is they massively overpayed giving him a 7 year deal worth $36.75 million. A $5.25 million cap hit (same as Joffrey Lupul) is a lot for a guy who's likely to be policing the third line and has only scored more than 20 goals once in his career.

 Finally we move to Jonathan Bernier, the goaltender who was brought in to rescue the Leafs Ben Scrivens but a cheap veteran would have done just fine. Instead they went out and acquired a young goaltender, virtually telling James Reimer he's not good enough and in the process screwed themselves with the cap. Without acquiring Bernier the Leafs would have $6,758,433 in cap space, which would have been enough to sign both Kadri and Franson. Instead they have just $4,895,833 left in cap space, not enough to sign both RFA's.

Also don't forget that Phil Kessel will need a new contract after this season, things are about to get real hot for Dave Nonis. The Leafs spent big money to rescue the goaltending which really didn't need rescuing. The Leafs had absolutely no reason to go out and acquire another number one goaltender, yes they needed an upgrade over Ben Scrivens but a cheap veteran would have done just fine.

In a perfect world the Leafs would want to sign both Franson and Kadri, but unless they buyout a contract or one of them caves to accept a horrible contract they won't be able to retain both.

Kadri is looking for deal around 6 years worth roughly $5.5 million a year, while the Leafs are looking at a bridge contract similiar to P.K Subban; roughly 2 years for $2.8 million. Kadri would be wise to accept the bridge contract in order to build up his resume and then demand more money in two years and if he has another year like last season he won't have to worry. But you can't exactly blame Kadri for his asking price. He sees the Leafs hand Bozak, nothing more than a glorified third line centre, $4.2 a year and since Kadri believes he's a better talent than Bozak he believes he's worth more. Truth be told neither player right now is worth anywhere near $4 million a year, but because Nonis has handed out some poor contracts others want the money.

The troublesome thing for the Leafs is they don't seem to even be in the same ballpark when negotiating with Kadri. Franson on the other hand is looking for a 4 year deal at $4 million a year, while the Leafs are looking for a 2 year deal worth $3 million a year. At least the Leafs are a little closer in terms with Franson, but it's looking like both players will want to play hardball.

Both Kadri and Franson played a pivot part in the Leafs return to the playoffs last season. Kadri burst onto the scene and has his best year putting up 18 goals and 26 assists, while Franson was a solid and

reliable defenceman all year long scoring 5 goals and adding 24 assists.

While the Leafs are stuck between a rock and a hard place right now, this was a completely avoidable problem. Nonis threw money around like there was no tomorrow during the offseason and now he's realizing that the money supply is running out and players won't play for nothing. Both Kadri and Franson deserve a respectable salary around $3 million, but the Leafs don't have the room.

With training camp looming closer and closer don't expect both to be there. The Kadri situation smells of what happened with Subban and a holdout may be imminent for Kadri. The Leafs, thanks to Nonis' loose wallet, don't have enough money to make both Nazem Kadri and Cody Franson happy which means a trade will be on the horizon.

Too bad Nonis didn't spend all that money this offseason on a viable upgrade all around. Locking up Kadri and Franson should have been first priority (after Bozak) for Nonis. If the Leafs do end up losing Kadri, they have no one but Nonis to blame for mismanaging the cap.

Why Having Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer Is Great For the Leafs

For many it came as a surprise that the Toronto Maple Leafs traded for goaltender Jonathan Bernier, after James Reimer helped propel the team back to the playoffs and nearly upset Tuukka Rask and the Boston Bruins. But it's really not that surprising that the Leafs were still looking to upgrade their goaltending after they were rumored to be looking at both Roberto Luongo and Miikka Kiprusoff during the season.

James Reimer proved himself to be a solid goaltender, but there are still a lot of questions surrounding the Leafs crease. What happens if, and based on the past, when Reimer goes down with an injury? In the two seasons Reimer has been the Leafs starter, he's been injured for periods of time in both. Can Reimer continue to shine when the Leafs don't? And most importantly can he perform in the playoffs? Reimer is a young goaltender trying to find his way in the NHL. He doesn't play many back-to-back games and can't really be counted on to start more than 50 games. The Leafs needed a better, more reliable and proven second goaltender other than Ben Scrivens, to help when Reimer needs a break.

Whether Reimer or the Toronto fans like it or not, the Leafs needed an update behind Reimer. Sure they didn't have to go and acquire another young goalie looking to become a bonafide number 1, when they had Reimer, but they did. While it may seem like acquiring Bernier was a deterrent for Reimer's confidence, it was actually a brilliant move by the Leafs.

When you look at the goaltending situations around the league you start to notice a trend; goalie tandems. Last season saw teams such as the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins,  Anaheim Ducks and Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, use both their goaltenders throughout the season. All five of the teams listed above not only operated with a 1A, 1B goaltending system- they also all made it to the postseason.

But let's focus on the Chicago Blackhawks use of the goalie tandem. After two rocky seasons with Corey Crawford at the helm and two first round playoff exits, the Blackhawks decided to bring in another goaltender to not only mentor Crawford but to also give him a break. The plan worked perfectly as Crawford led the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup Championship.

Obviously the Leafs didn't go with the veteran back-up route, but they got a young goalie who will help push Reimer to perform his best. If you're looking for someone to compare Reimer to you can look across to Crawford. Both are fairly young, in-experienced goaltenders with just 3 NHL seasons under their belts, have very similar career numbers, and both still have a lot to prove. It helped Corey Crawford to have another goaltender behind him, and it wouldn't hurt to give Reimer some motivation.

Is Jonathan Bernier an immediate upgrade over Reimer? No. It's too early to tell just how good Bernier
is. He's only played in 62 NHL games and while he's shown flashes of greatness during those games, the sample size is too small. Any half-decent goaltender can post solid numbers through 15 games, but until a goalie starts 30 games in a season their numbers don't say much.

With Bernier the Leafs don't know what they have yet, with Reimer on the other hand they know exactly what they have. A solid goaltender that is capable of bailing the team out and backstopping a team to the postseason. Based on experience and Reimer's play last season he should get the key to the crease to start off the year, but with Bernier bitting at his heals Reimer will be forced to play his best hockey. Besides, what's so bad about a little competition for the starting job?

Having both Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer battling for the right to claim the crease is a win-win for the Leafs. Both are solid young goaltenders, which want a starting role in the NHL and will have to play their best to get between the pipes. The Leafs now have two capable goalies that can step up to the plate anytime they're called upon. If Reimer get's hurt, goes through a rough patch of games or needs a rest, they can throw Bernier in without any worries and vice versa.

Having two capable starting goaltenders is a great move by the Leafs and a great strategy to capitalize on the latest NHL trend. If the season starts and both goaltenders are playing well it will also give the Leafs the edge over their competition by not having to ride just one goaltender all the time. If Randy Carlyle plays his cards right and allows both goaltenders time to prove themselves and keeps the media circus away from the goaltenders, the Leafs could ride their goaltending tandem back to the playoffs once again.