Everyone thought the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to clean house this summer, with Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak, Dion Phaneuf, Joffrey Lupul and James van Riemsdyk getting traded. Well only one Leaf of that group was traded and Leaf fans know Kessel will rip it up in Pittsburgh.
The player who would get the most value for the Leafs is James van Riemsdyk. van Riemsdyk has three years left at a bargain of $4.25 million. The question is, do the Leafs want to trade van Riemsdyk? Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star figured the Leafs could possibly have him traded by July 1, 2015. This never happened.
Stephen Whyno of TSN suggests that van Riemsdyk will be part of the Leafs long-term plan and will not be traded. Along with van Riemsdyk, Morgan Rielly, Peter Holland, Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Bernier and Jake Gardiner will be part of the Leafs going forward.
It looks like Mike Babcock, Brendan Shanahan, Lou Lamoriello and company will stick with the current Leafs core and see what they can do? If the Leafs are well out of a playoff spot when February hits, look for the Leafs to dangle van Riemsdyk and see what type of return they can get for him.
Check out the current Toronto Maple Leafs salary cap situation.
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