Maple Leafs, Sandin ‘going nowhere’ in contract negotiations

Deep into the offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs and restricted free-agent defenseman Rasmus Sandin are at a standstill over a new contract.

“Negotiations are going nowhere,” Sandin’s agent, Lewis Gross, told Sportsnet’s Luke Fox on Wednesday.

Neither Gross nor Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas divulged why a deal hasn’t been reached.

“Negotiating contracts via the media (has) an adverse impact on player (and) team reputation and traditionally (does) not create resolutions to private matters,” Dubas said.

Sandin is Toronto’s lone remaining RFA. The Maple Leafs signed defenseman Timothy Liljegren – a fair comparable to Sandin also coming off his entry-level contract – to a two-year, $2.8-million deal in April.

The Maple Leafs are currently $1.4 million over the $82.5-million salary cap, according to Cap Friendly, but teams can exceed the limit in the offseason.

Toronto drafted Sandin 29th overall in 2018. He set career highs in games played (51), points (16), and average ice time (16:58) this past season but had his breakout campaign cut short due to a knee injury. He didn’t draw into the Leafs’ playoff roster after he recovered.

Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, and Mark Giordano occupy the left side of the Leafs’ blue line, making Sandin’s possible role unclear.

Maple Leafs legend Salming diagnosed with ALS

Toronto Maple Leafs legend and trailblazer Borje Salming revealed Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The 71-year-old elaborated on his diagnosis in a statement issued through the team:

I have received news that has shaken my family and me. The signs that indicated that something was wrong in my body turned out to be the disease ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

In an instant, everything changed. I do not know how the days ahead will be, but I understand that there will be challenges greater than anything I have ever faced. I also recognize that there is no cure but there are numerous worldwide trials going on and there will be a cure one day. In the meantime, there are treatments available to slow the progression and my family and I will remain positive.

Since I started playing ice hockey as a little kid in Kiruna, and throughout my career, I have given it my all. And I will continue to do so. Right now, I rest assured that I have my loving family around me and the best possible medical care.

I understand that there are many of you that would like to reach out, however I kindly ask you to respect our privacy in these trying times. Please keep us in your prayers. When the time is right and I understand more about my condition and future journey, I will reach out. So, until such a time, we kindly refrain from all contact.

I hope you understand and respect our decision.

Salming’s career spanned from 1973-89, and he played all but one of his 17 seasons with the Maple Leafs. The man affectionately known as “The King” was one of the best and most productive defensemen of his time, and he paved the way for future Swedish players making the jump to the NHL.

The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Salming in 1996, and the Leafs retired his No. 21 in 2008. He still holds several Maple Leafs franchise records, including most career goals and points by a defenseman and most career assists by any player. Salming also ranks fourth in club history in points with 768 in 1,099 games. He was voted one of the top 100 players in NHL history in 1997.

Salming also represented his country on numerous occasions, and the IIHF chose him as one of only six players on its Centennial All-Star team in 2008.

ALS is a degenerative disease that progressively affects muscle control and eventually leads to paralysis. There is currently no cure.

Maple Leafs add Victor Mete, Jordie Benn on 1-year deals

The Toronto Maple Leafs shored up their depth on the blue line by inking defensemen Victor Mete and Jordie Benn to matching one-year deals worth $750,000 on Thursday.

Mete, 24, became an unrestricted free agent after the Ottawa Senators decided not to tender him a qualifying offer.

The 5-foot-9 Ontario native logged seven assists in 37 games with the Senators this past season while averaging 14:37 per contest.

Selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, Mete has 43 points in 236 career contests.

Benn, 34, spent the 2021-22 season with the Minnesota Wild, putting up one goal and seven assists in 39 games while playing about 15 minutes a night.

A veteran of 595 NHL games, the 6-foot-2 Benn has also suited up for the Dallas Stars, Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, and Winnipeg Jets, amassing 135 points.

Jarnkrok joins Maple Leafs on 4-year, $8.4M contract

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed versatile forward Calle Jarnkrok to a four-year contract with an average annual value of $2.1 million, the team announced Friday.

The deal includes a limited no-trade clause, according to TSN’s Chris Johnston.

Jarnkrok recorded 12 goals and 18 assists in 66 games split between the Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames last season. Calgary picked him up from Seattle at the trade deadline, but he notably struggled with the Flames, failing to score in 17 contests.

The Kraken scooped up the Swede in the expansion draft from the Nashville Predators, where Jarnkrok spent the first eight years of his career.

Jarnkrok, who has experience playing both center and wing, has been a consistent middle-six contributor in his career, averaging 15 goals and 20 assists per 82 games. The 30-year-old’s underlying numbers over the last three seasons are fairly average:

Evolving-Hockey.com

Evolving-Hockey projected Jarnkrok would sign a four-year deal with an AAV of $4.4 million.

The Maple Leafs currently have $757,000 in cap space with a roster of 21 players. They still have two restricted free agents to sign in Pierre Engvall and Rasmus Sandin, so a move to clear cap space may be on the horizon.

Maple Leafs sign Samsonov to 1-year, $1.8M pact

The Toronto Maple Leafs locked in goaltender Ilya Samsonov on a one-year contract worth $1.8 million.

Samsonov struggled this past season, posting an .896 save percentage while going 23-12-5 in 44 games for the Washington Capitals.

The 25-year-old will complete the Leafs’ new tandem in the crease alongside Matt Murray, who Toronto traded for on Monday. General manager Kyle Dubas said the competition for the club’s starting goalie role next season is “wide-open,” according to The Athletic’s Joshua Kloke.

Samsonov was once a promising prospect but didn’t consistently play up to his potential during his Capitals tenure. The Russian repeatedly failed to grab the No. 1 role and authored a .902 save percentage over his three-season stint in the U.S. capital.

Washington drafted Samsonov 22nd overall in 2015.

Murray eager to help Leafs: ‘I have a lot to prove’

New Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray is eager to prove his worth in his new surroundings.

The Maple Leafs acquired the two-time Stanley Cup champion from the Ottawa Senators on Monday and will likely make him their No. 1 goalie, with Jack Campbell expected to depart in free agency.

“I’m extremely motivated. I think I have a lot to prove,” Murray said Tuesday, per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.

Murray joined the Senators prior to the 2020-21 season, but his tenure in Canada’s capital didn’t go to plan. He was often injured and only managed an .899 save percentage in 47 appearances. Ottawa retained 25% of his remaining salary in the trade.

Toronto is gambling on a bounce back from the 28-year-old, who looked destined for superstardom after helping the Pittsburgh Penguins to back-to-back titles in his first two seasons with the team. Murray hopes his championship pedigree can help the Leafs, who’ve lost in the opening round of the postseason six years in a row.

“A huge thing that those Cup runs taught me was it’s all about the day-to-day process,” Murray said, according to The Leafs Nation’s David Alter. “The end result is just exactly that. It’s the end result of a continuous, day-to-day endeavor. … That’s the approach I’ve always taken, and that’s the approach I intend to take once again to try and push myself.”

Murray is also excited to suit up for the franchise he rooted for as a kid.

“It was definitely my favorite childhood team,” Murray said, per Fox. “It was my dad’s favorite team. We used to watch games together. So just being able to put on that jersey for the first time, I think, is going to be something really special for me.”

The Maple Leafs traded Petr Mrazek at the draft and will likely seek another netminder to tandem with Murray when free agency opens Wednesday.

Senators trade Matt Murray, picks to Maple Leafs for future considerations

The Ottawa Senators traded goaltender Matt Murray and two picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for future considerations, both teams announced Monday.

Murray has two more seasons on his deal at a cap hit of $6.25 million, but Ottawa will retain 25% of the 28-year-old’s salary as part of the agreement. He will cost just under $4.69 million against the Leafs’ books per season.

Toronto will receive the Senators’ third-round selection in 2023 and a seventh-round pick in 2024.

Murray won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, becoming the first goaltender to accomplish the feat as a rookie in the process. He owns a sterling .921 save percentage and 2.18 goals against average in 51 career playoff appearances.

However, he was unable to live up to expectations after signing his current four-year, $25-million contract with the Senators in October 2020. Injuries marred his two-season tenure in Ottawa: Murray was only able to suit up for 47 games in Canada’s capital, where he authored a .899 save percentage and 3.23 GAA.

Murray saw a slight uptick in performance this past season after logging a career-worst 3.38 GAA in 2020-21. He sported a .906 save percentage and 3.05 GAA in 2021-22 while putting up one shutout in 20 showings.

A non-COVID-19 illness sidelined him to begin the campaign, kicking things off on the wrong foot. He then suited up for two games before sustaining a head injury. Murray eventually returned to action for another three contests before testing positive for COVID-19.

Then the team placed him on waivers and sent him to the AHL in November. At the time, Murray said he felt the Senators were making him the scapegoat for their early-season struggles.

“I do, yeah. I also think that’s part of what you sign up for as a goalie. I think that comes with the territory,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve been bad, but I haven’t been good enough to win.”

Murray returned to the crease in the NHL in January and improved markedly before being forced to miss the Senators’ remaining 29 games of the season. He rocked a 2.96 GAA and .912 save percentage during his final 14 appearances of the campaign.

The Penguins’ third-round selection in 2012 owns a career 2.77 GAA and a .911 save percentage in 246 NHL games.

Murray played junior hockey with the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds under current Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe.

The Maple Leafs will reportedly be hunting for another cheaper goaltender, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. Pending unrestricted free-agent goaltender Jack Campbell was Toronto’s starter in 2021-22, and he’ll now almost certainly hit the open market on July 13.

Maple Leafs, Senators discussing Matt Murray trade

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators have intensified discussions about a trade for goaltender Matt Murray, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The Sens were reportedly in deep talks to send Murray to Buffalo this week, but the Sabres were on the netminder’s 10-team no-trade list and he was unwilling to waive.

Part of Murray’s reasoning for not waiving his no-trade clause is because he apparently wants to go to Toronto or the Edmonton Oilers, according to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News.

Murray still has two years remaining on his contract with a $6.25-million cap hit. The Senators were reportedly willing to retain a portion of his salary in the trade to the Sabres.

The 28-year-old’s tenure in Canada’s capital has not been kind. He was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in October 2020 for a second-round pick and a prospect, and two days later he signed a four-year, $25-million pact. But Murray’s battled injuries in Ottawa and struggled when healthy, registering an .899 save percentage across 47 appearances in two seasons with the Sens.

However, Murray was once one of the game’s most promising, young goalies. He helped lead the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, posted a .917 save percentage in his first four NHL seasons, and owns a lifetime .921 mark in 51 playoff games.

The Thunder Bay, Ontario, product has ties to the Leafs organization, too. He played his junior hockey with the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds under current Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe.

Toronto’s No. 1 offseason priority is finding a goalie. The club traded away Petr Mrazek at the draft to clear salary, and although they met with pending UFA Jack Campbell yesterday, they don’t appear to be close to an agreement.

Erik Kallgren and Joseph Woll are Toronto’s only two goalies under contract for next season.

The Senators gave journeyman netminder Anton Forsberg a three-year, $8.25-million extension in March after he provided some much-needed stability to their crease last season. Filip Gustavsson, 24, appears ready for a backup role, too.

The Leafs and Senators are provincial rivals, but Dubas and Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion have pulled off significant trades in the past, including a six-player deal involving Connor Brown, Nikita Zaitsev, and Cody Ceci back in 2019.

17-year NHL veteran, Sharks scout Bryan Marchment dies at 53

Former NHL defenseman Bryan Marchment died unexpectedly Wednesday in Montreal, his agent said. He was 53.

Longtime agent Rick Curran confirmed Marchment’s death to The Associated Press. Marchment was attending the NHL draft in Montreal as a scout for the San Jose Sharks.

A cause of death was not immediately available.

“It’s a sad day for for me personally, a very sad day for our organization,” said Mike Grier, who was named Sharks general manager on Tuesday. “He meant a lot to a lot of people in our organization, our players, our staff —anyone who knew Brian, the type of man he was. He was just an honest, a down-to-earth, loving person who just cared about everyone. He had time for everyone in the building. Anyone he came across, he had time for. ”

Marchment played parts of 17 NHL seasons from 1989-2006 with Winnipeg, Chicago, Hartford, Edmonton, Tampa Bay, San Jose, Colorado, Toronto and Calgary. The Scarborough, Ontario native had been working in scouting and other roles for the Sharks and their American Hockey League affiliate since 2007.

The NHL and NHL Alumni Association offered their condolences in statements released Wednesday afternoon. News of Marchment’s death reached GMs while they were attending their annual meeting at the draft.

“Just shocking and devastating news,” Philadelphia’s Chuck Fletcher said. “Very young man. Obviously, you’re thinking of his family and friends right now.”

Grier played with Marchment with the Oilers and said Marchment was quick to treat him with respect and make him feel at home..

“If I ever needed anything, whether it was a home-cooked dinner instead of eating out every day, he and (wife) Kim would have me over,” Grier said. “So, it’s a very difficult day.”

Grier praised Marchment as a hard worker and said members of San Jose’s staff would carry on with their responsibilities at the draft with heavy hearts.

“I gave them some time to regroup and have some time to themselves and process and grieve,” he said. “I know ‘Mush’ — that’s what he would say. He would want us to get back to work and do our best and have the best draft possible, so we’ll get back to work. “

Pappin, credited with Toronto’s last Cup-winning goal, dies at 82

Jim Pappin, the former NHL forward credited with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ last Stanley Cup-winning goal, has died. He was 82.

The Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks announced the death Wednesday on social media.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jim Pappin,” the Maple Leafs said. “Jim played five seasons in Toronto, winning the Stanley Cup in 1964 & ’67. Named one of the 100 Greatest Leafs, he scored the Cup-winning goal and led the team in scoring in ’67. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Later, the Blackhawks said: “The ‘P’ in the MPH Line tallied 444 points in 488 games in Chicago and ranks 17th all-time for franchise scorers with 216 goals. Our hearts go out to Jim’s family and friends.”

Pappin was given credit for Toronto’s second goal in a 3-1 series-ending victory over Montreal in Game 6 on May 2, 1967. Linemate Pete Stemkowski deflected it in, but allowed Pappin to take credit to earn a contract bonus.

Pappin also played on Toronto’s 1964 Stanley Cup championship team, spending part of five seasons with the Maple Leafs.

Traded to Chicago in 1968, he had his biggest offensive seasons with the Blackhawks with MPH Line mates Pit Martin and Dennis Hull, finishing with career highs of 41 goals, 51 assists and 92 points in 1972-73.

After seven seasons with Chicago, he spent the 1975-76 season with the California Seals and followed the franchise to Cleveland the following year for his final NHL season.

In 767 regular-season games in 14 seasons in the NHL, Pappin had 278 goals and 295 assists. In 92 playoff games, he had 33 goals and 34 assists.