Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes in his latest 32 Thoughts column that the Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltender Jack Campbell haven’t gotten anywhere when it comes to talks regarding a contract extension. Reporting there have been “no material contract conversations” since the end of the season, the two sides were far apart at that time and things don’t look to be improving.
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Campbell’s agent tells Friedman that there has been little to no movement or update on a new deal for the goaltender who is a pending UFA this summer. That could be because Toronto is tight to the salary cap next season or because they simply don’t believe Campbell is worth what his agent might believe the netminder is. Either way, the Maple Leafs will need to find room to keep Campbell and likely part with the $3.8 million salary that comes with backup Petr Mrazek. The lack of conversation with Campbell could be a number of things, including the order of business for the Leafs if signing Campbell requires other things need to get done.
Jack Campbell goes to make a save for the Maple LeafsWhat Happens If Campbell and the Leafs Don’t Work Something Out?
Should a lack of progress on a new deal actually not have to do with other business but a Leafs’ lack of confidence that Campbell is actually their guy, backup plans for the Maple Leafs might include Darcy Kuemper (Colorado), Marc-Andre Fleury (Minnesota), Mikko Koskinen (Edmonton), Ville Husso (St. Louis), Braden Holtby (Dallas), and Alexander Georgiev (New York Rangers), according to Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star. Johnston also reported Campbell/his camp wants a $5 million AAV deal and he doesn’t think the Leafs can or will pay that.
It’s not a guarantee that all of these names will actually make it to the free-agent market as some of their respective teams might want to hang onto their players.
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