Although the Toronto Maple Leafs ended the season with the worst record in the NHL, the team did announce that it will be resigning two players. This makes for a big start in the offseason even for a team with the worst NHL sports betting odds.
Forward Nazem Kadri and defenseman Morgan Rielly have both each been signed to six-year contract extensions. TSN reporter Bob McKenzie says that Rielly’s contract will be for $5 million per year on the cap while Kadri will get $4.5 million per year. The two players were originally going to be restricted free agents this offseason.
This could prove to be something that may improve NHL online sportsbook odds for the Leafs in the 2016-17 season. The Leafs are clearly in an intensive rebuilding process but by getting new deals for both Kadri and Rielly, it should be easier for the team to move forward with two growing stars.
Rielly is 22 years of age and has become a star defenseman who has only become more important to the Leafs since Dion Phaneuf departed. Rielly, who was the fifth overall draft pick when the Leafs got him, has played in 236 games with the team in the last three years. He has 9 goals and 27 assists this year. These are his career single-season highs. This came amid the team’s overall struggles to try and find a semblance of depth.
In addition, Rielly has conformed well to the standard of play that new coach Mike Babcock is looking for. Babcock is looking for his players to focus on puck-possession skills above all else.
Nazem Kadri is a rather interesting figure in that it is unclear as to how he can truly act. He had struggled to get used to Babcock’s new sense of control at the start. However, he has started to adapt to it quite well.
In particular, Kadri has played for the Leafs for parts of the last seven seasons. He has been up with the team in full for the past four. He had 45 points in 76 games last year. This is not his strongest year but he is hoping to improve as more talent comes about from junior and minor leagues.
Kadri had a $4.1 million one-year contract this past year. The increase to $4.5 million per year is not much but will at least take care of a few of his UFA years. This is important to the team in terms of getting players locked up for a long period of time.
This will especially give the Maple Leafs time to plan for the draft. The team has twelve picks in this year’s draft with two of them coming in the first round.
Of course, there is always the big question about which UFAs the Leafs can grab. This especially comes as Toronto area native Steven Stamkos is available on the market out of Tampa Bay. Whether or not the Leafs can grab him will certainly be an interesting point to see.
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